BARRHEAD - Barrhead Elementary School (BES) teacher and indoor running track team coach Kelly Klein is hoping history repeats itself and the school will make it to the final day of competition at the Running Room Indoor Games.
The event, formerly known as the Edmonton Journal Indoor Games, is a community track and field event that allows elementary and high school students from Grades 3 to 12 from all over the province to experience the thrill of competition.
BES has competed at the event, in some form, mostly in Grade 4-6, 8x200 metre relay competitions, for over 30 years.
This year, two members from both the boys' and girls' relay teams will be competing in the 200-metre individual race as well.
This week, on Feb. 22, at the University of Alberta's Butterdome, BES will compete in the elimination rounds to earn the right to qualify for the final day of competition on March 11. The Top 60 schools move on.
In the long history of the BES indoor running club, the school never failed to advance to the final day of competition.
"But I tell the kids, just because it has happened before, doesn't mean it is a given. You still have to put in the effort and prepare the best you can," Klein said.
However, she said, they don't often need to be reminded.
"They are a great bunch of kids, and I'm excited that they will get the chance," Klein said, noting this is the first time the Indoor Running Games will be held in three years due to the pandemic.
She said they started training for the event in early November, selecting their team of 12 boys and 10 girls. Those who do not run during the elimination round will get a chance to run on the final day of the competition.
"They (both lineups) are mostly Grade 6s, but they both have one Grade 4 student along with a smattering of Grade 5s," she said.
Most weeks, Klein said, the team practices three times a week, usually Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
On Tuesdays during the recess and lunch breaks, they practice in the school's large gymnasium, which is usually divided into three distinct spaces, each containing a regulation-size basketball court.
However, when all the sliders are removed, it gives them the space to practice their baton passing.
After school on Wednesdays, practice moves to the Agrena running track, where the teams can go through the drills, such as the previously mentioned baton passing with the added space of an actual 800-metre track allows them to conduct mock races. Fridays are usually a rest day devoted to stretching.
The school's Indoor Running Club was the brainchild of long-time BES teacher Laurin Lamothe, who coached the squad for over 20 years. Klein was one of the many athletes who would return to help coach the team.
"The kids like to laugh at the pictures of me when I was on the track team," she said, adding it is also becoming a bit of a family tradition as two of her three sons are on the squad.
Klein said she also hopes to use the indoor track team as a springboard to something larger and create a track and field club at the school similar to the one Lamothe organized during her tenure that would travel and compete in track meets around the region in the spring and summer.
"That's my long-term goal because everyone can run, and it is a good way to get kids active and moving," she said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
