Hannah's Track Meet

Hannah participated in the county wide track meet today for all 4th and 5th graders. She competed for Canongate Elementary School in the obstacle course relay, the 400m race, and the broad jump in the 9 yr old girls category (the age group went by what their age was as of September 1st of 2007). I didn't realize how big of an event this was going to be. It took place at Northgate High School, and the whole visitor's side bleachers was filled with kids and parents. It was really neat.

Hannah's first event was the obstacle course relay. She was the anchor on the team (meaning she ran last). They had to step through hula hoops, go under a bar, jump over two mats and a rope, go around a cone, jump two hurdles and finish. She did really well.


Her second event, the 400 m race, happened rather quickly after the obstacle course relay. The 400 m race is once around the track. I seems simple enough, but it is an endurance sprint, which is rather tricky. If you go out too quickly, you lose steam in the first straight-a-way. But, if you don't go out quickly enough, it's too hard to catch up no matter how fast you go at the end. I told her not to go out too quickly, but to punch it in the final turn/straight-a-way. She did a good job. Her pace wasn't as fast as the rest of the girls, but I had to remind her that this was the shortest race she's ever competed in. She normally does 5K races (3.1 miles); and she had a good pace going for a 5K race. I was proud of her.

Her third event was the broad jump. Her longest jump was 5' 9", which I thought was pretty good for a 4' 2" little girl.

She also enjoyed seeing Gaby Browne from church who was competing for Thomas Crossroads Elementary. Gaby competed in the medicine ball throw; and did really well. It was nice for Hannah to feel some support from some familiar faces like Gaby and Charissa Browne.

All in all, it was a really good day. I was really proud of Hannah and how well she did. She may not have come in first, but she did her best; and she was a very good sport. She was there cheering on the rest of her team; and being extremely supportive. She is definitely our little athlete. She loves being and doing things outside. It'll be interesting to see what extracurricular events she does as she gets older.