Jerry Alexander has been the coach of NOVA since June 2006. Coach Jerry works with all NOVA members, who range from national-class to beginners. During Coach Jerry’s time with NOVA, many of our runners have recorded noteworthy performances, highlighted by Martha Merz breaking the American Record for the over-45 age group at 10,000 meters, that had stood for 17 years, at the 2008 Penn Relays. Among the other elite runners who have achieved exceptional results under Coach Jerry’s guidance are Laura O’Hara, who was the First American and fourth overall finisher at the 2010 Wilson Bridge Half Marathon in the outstanding time of 1:19:35; Samantha Kirby Cole, who with Coach Jerry’s help has dropped her marathon PR from 3:19 to 2:59:50, and has placed in the top 10 at the Marine Corps and Houston marathons; Kate Dart, who ran PR’s at every distance from 5k to the marathon in one year working with Coach Jerry, including outstanding performances of 37:34 for 10k and 1:22:48 for the half marathon; and David Wertz, who has improved in the course of three years working with Coach Jerry from an average runner to one of the top over-35 runners in the area, and who ran 25:58 for 8k and 33:31 for 10k in 2010. Coach Jerry has also helped numerous sub-elite runners achieve lofty goals, including helping Mike Naff improve his marathon PR from 3:15 to 3:02, and Eva Galdo and Grace Park qualify for Boston in their marathon debuts.
Coach Jerry is also the coach of the Georgetown Running Company Race Team, which is comprised of elite athletes hoping to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the marathon. In addition, Coach Jerry coaches several national-class athletes who do not live in the Washington area, including Krista Vrombaut of Rock Island, Illinois, the 2010 National Marathon champion, and Kathy Leiver of Tampa, Florida.
Despite his extensive experience working with elite athletes, Coach Jerry does not limit his attention to NOVA’s stars. Rather, he provides personal guidance to all of our runners who seek his assistance. Coach Jerry’s philosophy of quality track workouts combined with ample recovery and moderate weekly mileage to minimize injuries has proven to be successful with runners of all levels of talent and experience.
Prior to joining NOVA, Coach Jerry was the Assistant Coach for track and cross-country at American University for seven years. During that time, he worked with numerous elite runners, including two men who ran under 4:00 for the mile, a woman who went on to represent the United States in the marathon at the 2007 World Championships, and many conference champions in the Patriot League and the Colonial Athletic Association, in distances ranging from 800 meters to 10,000 meters. Prior to joining the staff at American, Coach Jerry was the Head Coach at the University of the District of Columbia, where he coached several elite international athletes, including one runner who had the fastest time for 800 meters indoors in NCAA Division II in 1997.
Coach Jerry competed in track and cross-country at Columbia University, where he was captain of both teams his senior year, and as a first-year law student at Vanderbilt University, where he set three school records in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Coach Jerry is employed as a Trial Attorney by the United States Department of Justice. Coach Jerry’s wife Michelle runs only when chasing their son Jacob, who will be a many-time Olympian in an as-yet-undetermined track or field event.
Proud member of the Road Runners Club of America
NOVA