Just how far is two kilometres?
On Monday, Sept. 26, about 45 Barrhead Elementary School (BES) Grade 4 to 6 students had the opportunity to find out first hand as they competed in a Pembina Hills Public Schools cross-country track meet at the Westlock Golf Course.
The event was part of a Pembina Hills Public Schools cross-country meet with students from schools across the division competing from elementary to junior high school.
Brent Wierenga, Grade 6 teacher and one of the coaches for the school’s indoor track team, said at the beginning of every school year he takes a group of interested students to a cross-country track meet.
“Something to introduce them to the sport of long distance running,” he said, adding in the past he has taken students as far as Edmonton, but prefers this track meet because it is low key.
“We only tell the 10 finishers in each category where they placed and there are no medals or ribbons,” Wierenga said. “It is just about introducing them to the sport and giving students the sense of accomplishment.”
To get ready for the track meet, Wierenga held three days of practices during the students’ lunch and recess breaks.
To give the students an idea of how long two kilometres was, in the first practice, Wierenga had them run the full distance. In subsequent practices he shortened the course to 500 metres and gradually built it back up to work on getting the proper cadence and teach them how to control and monitor their heart rates.
In order to take part in the informal cross-country club students needed to have their parents sign a permission form.
“I think at the beginning of the week I had 85 students sign up,” he said, adding about half were in Grade 4. However, by the end of the week 55 remained. “Which is pretty good, especially considering that most of them have never run long distance before.”
Although the event is only meant to be an introduction into the sport and not a serious event, the BES squad had a number of good performances.
Wierenga said the average time for this age group is about 12 minutes, adding that a number of students finished with times in the 10-minute range, including Emma Weeks (3rd place), Grade 6, Isaac Whitley (3rd), Grade 6, Antija Quintilio (2nd), Grade 5, and Hunter Bentz (3rd), Grade 4.
The BES team also had a number of finishes in the Top 10, including Alex Hiemstra, who finished in first place in the Grade 4 boys’ category.
Like many in the BES cross-country team, Hiemstra said he had never run long distance before, but added it probably won’t be his last time.
“It was so much fun,” he said.
As for what is next for the BES cross-country team, Wierenga said the cross-country meet was the end to the season, but the school’s indoor track team would soon begin. Last year, both the boys and girls, the 8 x 200-metre relay teams won silver at the Running Room Indoor Game Finals in Edmonton in March.
