Juniors in action at Invicta AC Open 800m and 1 mile
With the clocks changing we now have lighter evenings for running. Invicta AC hosted one of the first open events on the track at Canterbury.
Two TRAC juniors rose to the challenge of taking on some of East Kent’s finest runners.
Maisie Kemp aged 12, entered the 1 mile and Iris Hooper aged 9, entered the 800m.
Both athletes were very keen to get started and you could see the excitement building for them as they ran together for their warm up.
Iris was the first to race in the 800m U11 category. Boys and girls both raced together.
The race started and Iris was bumped into a couple of times as athletes tried to get to the inside by some bigger athletes going round the first bend. But she held fast in her position and settled in to 4th place after the first corner, with only some slightly older boys in front of her.
By the end of the first lap she had moved to just behind 3rd place. She revved through the gears on the back straight and moved clear into 3rd overall. Coming round the last bend she looked strong and comfortable with an excellent sprint finish. She finished in a time of 2:56.64
Next up was Maisie in the 1 mile. This was split into 2 heats. Maisie ran in the first heat. There were 8 athletes in this heat. 5 boys and 3 girls.
The race started and Maisie settled into a good pace. The 5 boys led after the first lap, Maisie was running at the back about 20m behind 7th.
You could see Maisie kept up a strong even pace and started to close the gap on 7th. By the bell on the last lap, Maisie had caught up this athlete completely and they were neck and neck with 400m to go. Down the back straight Maisie moved 7-8 metres clear. But that was not the end for her competitor, who reeled Maisie back in going round the final bend and then sprinted clear to beat her by 2 seconds. Maisie finished 8th in this heat (3rd girl) with a time of 6:15.84.
The second heat had older athletes in, 4 boys and 4 girls. All U17 or older categories. However this heat turned out to be slower than the first and Maisie’s time was better than the older girls in this heat. Maisie finished 3rd from the 7 girls taking part over the 2 heats.
Both Iris and Maisie thoroughly enjoyed the event and are looking forward to more track events during the summer.
Well done girls. You have huge potential. Everyone at Thanet Roadrunners is proud of you!
Our juniors are the future of the club!
We have some really excellent, qualified, DBS vetted coaches in our junior section. And its fun!
WhatsApp us on 07974355811 if your youngster would like to give it a try, free and with no obligation. Age 9yrs+.