Every year about this time, there are three running races put on for kids ranging in ages from 4 to 15 or so, the Telford Magic Mile, the Pro Shop Dash at Dark, and the KPMG Round the Grounds races. Josh has been doing these races since he was 4 years old, as has Ryley.
The first race is the Magic Mile, held at National Stadium on a nice smooth flat running track. It was unfortunately a little wet and cool this year for the race, but that didn’t stop the kids from running like crazy!
Ryley’s race was a single lap of the 400m track, which took her 2:15.75, good for 25th place out of 46 participants in her age group. Way to go, Roo! She worked very hard and was smiles at the end which is great to see!
Josh also came ready to run, all the boys look so serious there at the start line! His two laps around the track took him 3:32.64, putting him in 15th of 62, a great showing. He was happy to be able to finish ahead of a few of his buddies for once!
Next race on the schedule is the Dash at Dark, held on a grassed, but still flat, rugby pitch adjacent to the National Stadium. The length of the races is the same as the Magic Mile the previous weekend. Being after sunset this time of year traditionally has the weather quite cool – this year was no exception!
After a long warmup, Ryley took to the course in her super cute new outfit Jenn brought back from Florida on a recent trip, and powered home in 39th place of 86, in a time of 2:11.3, a few seconds faster than her Magic Mile time. Nicely done!
Josh, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well as he was sick a good portion of the preceding week with a stomach bug. He insisted that he was well enough to run, however, and came away with a time of 3:55.2, good for 62nd place out of 106. Not too shabby, considering…! He was happy at the end but equally as happy to leave to go home afterwards. Good job, dude.
The final race, Round the Grounds, is held at the Botanical Gardens. This is a hilly course, some on grass, some on dirt, some on asphalt – a real mixed bag! Ryley’s race was, again, a 400m course, which she tore up on her way to her fastest time in the series, 2:07.9, good for 31st place of 54!
Josh’s race was slightly shorter than the others for the series, at 700m. He was feeling back at 100% this race, and posted a 3:17.9, for 33rd place of 53. Great job!
Lots of Josh’s buddies participated in all the races, and by chance a whole pile of them ended up in the same place at the end of this final race in the series… photo op!!
Great job, kids! Looking forward to next year… we’ll see how Josh does after a summer of Tri-Hedz triathlon training… 🙂