Teen making his mark by pounding the pavement

By ohtadmin  | on October 12, 2023

A local eighth-grader is becoming a familiar face on the streets of Jamestown where he pedaled 19 miles eight days after he ran 13 of them.

Will Bridges, 13, competed Sunday in the Rotary Club’s Jamestown Classic following his impressive finish in a half-marathon a week earlier. Hosted Sept. 30 by Rhode Races, he placed 32nd overall in a field of 301 runners with a time of one hour, 48 minutes and 21 seconds. Bridges was the fastest teenager in the race and the second Jamestown resident to cross the finish line. He bested his ’22 effort by a minute.

Bridges and his family have lived in Jamestown since 2012. They originally relocated to Rhode Island as a military family, and after two years away, chose to return permanently. Bridges joined the Lawn School cross-country team in sixth grade and became hooked on endurance sports.

“He started with them, and then almost immediately jumped into his first half-marathon,” said his mother, Amanda.

After realizing he enjoyed running long distances as opposed to sprints, Bridges decided to start training away from his school practices. He prefers the half-marathon because he is able “to hold a pace and not get too tired.”

“It’s the distance that I find the easiest to manage,” he said.

To train, Bridges usually runs in his Jamestown Shores neighborhood. His average run ranges from 2-5 miles but he also pushes himself by running more than 10 miles sometimes. When he started training for half-marathons, he made a chart and decided he’d go for longer runs on specific days and shorter but faster runs on other days. He slowly increased the distances as the race got closer.

“I think he just wanted to challenge himself,” Amanda said. “He felt like he found something he was good at. He wanted to see how far he could go.”

The 13-mile Jamestown Half Marathon course started at Fort Getty and looped around the island counterclockwise, including stretches of Walcott Avenue, Conanicus Avenue, East Shore Road and North Road. It finished back at Fort Getty. Bridges said he thrives on running on familiar roads, which is evidenced by consecutive years winning his age group. Both years also featured rain, which he also uses as an advantage.

“It actually made it a little bit easier,” he said. “It allows you to not get hot and it eliminates one difficult element of your body overheating.”

In addition to the Jamestown race, Bridges also has competed in half-marathons in Narragansett and Bristol, both of which also are organized by Rhode Races. In October 2022, he finished 57th out of 523 runners (fourth in his division) in the Ocean State Rhode Race with a time of one hour, 41 minutes and 13 seconds.

In June, he came in 254th place from a field of 680 runners at the Independence Rhode Race in Bristol with a time of two hours and six seconds. He also competed in a virtual half-marathon for the Newport Rhode Race in April and came in sixth.

Stephanie Sullivan, a seventh-grade teacher at Lawn, also ran the ’22 Narragansett half-marathon last year. She finished five spots ahead of Bridges.

“He did amazing,” Sullivan said. “He completely blew me away with every aspect of it. He’s developed a passion for it. I think it’s not something kids his age normally do, but knowing Will and his ambition to go after his passions and things that motivate him, I’m not surprised.”

Bridges described the Bristol race as the toughest because it was hot, humid and the course was hilly. The Narragansett race, in comparison, had the least amount of hills. Also, running in the fall is easier than running in the summer, which is why his times are about 20 minutes apart.

Bridges said he will run in the Narragansett event that is scheduled for Oct. 29. He also is considering training for a full marathon. He has yet to run 26.2 miles, but said he has completed courses as long as 17 miles.

Photo courtesy of Jamestown Press