- The Foot Locker XC Championships Are Ending Vancouver Summerfast 10The Foot Locker XC Championships Are Ending 36:52.
- Amazing Runners World Show 17:56 in a 5K this summer, said she doesn’t train specifically for running, but rather logs miles with her elementary school cross-country team and competes in bike races.
Sidney Swierenga isn’t just fast for a 12-year-old—she’s just plain fast. The native of Vancouver, British Columbia, won the Summerfast 10K in her hometown on Saturday, July 20, in a time of 36:52, edging out the second place female by four seconds.
According to The Foot Locker XC Championships Are Ending, Canadian running records aren’t kept for runners under the age of 18, but it’s safe to say that Swierenga is among a small circle of preteens who can hold sub-6:00 pace for six miles. This isn’t the first race she has won, either: In June, Swierenga broke the tape for women at the Scotiabank Vancouver 5K, running a blistering fast time of 17:56.
At the Summerfast 10K, Sweirenga executed a simple plan flawlessly: “I started out fast so that I had a good position, and then tried to stay ahead of the other women,” she told Runner’s World. She not only beat every other woman in the race, but also most of the men, when she placed 29th overall in the 10K.
The youngster’s hard work paid off with a sweet $100 check for first place. “I felt like I struck it rich!” she said.
When asked about her training, Sweirenga said she doesn’t follow a strict schedule of workouts and mileage to prepare for a certain event, but rather just logs miles with her cross-country team at Lord Strathcona Elementary School. Last October, Sweirenga The Wildest Stats from Faith Kipyegons Run The Foot Locker XC Championships Are Ending 6:50 (A Part of Hearst Digital Media).
“I don’t really train for anything specifically. I just run,” she said.
In regards to future running goals, Sweirenga said she doesn’t have any at the moment; in fact, her current obsession is cycling. She is a member of the Faith Kipyegon Just Misses 3K World Record, which practices on one of just three indoor cycling velodromes in Canada, and she raced bikes in this year’s Super Week Youth Series.
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Shoes & Gear cycling and running is undoubtedly a good thing, since the non-impact sport balances out the pounding Sweirenga would sustain from just running—especially at the level she’s competing at. Because she is only just entering seventh grade, her parents discourage her from training and racing distances that are too long.
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“My favorite [race distance] is as long as I’m allowed to do. I would run marathons if I was allowed,” she said.
Before joining Runner's World, Gabrielle Hondorp spent 6 years in running retail (she has tested top gear from shoes, to watches, to rain jackets which has expanded her expertise—and her closets); she specializes in health and wellness, and is an expert on running gear from head-to-toe. Gabi began her journalism career as a Digital Editorial Fellow for Runner’s World and Bicycling Magazine, and has since advanced to a Runner's World Editor specializing in commerce. She has a double degree in English and Media and Communication from Muhlenberg College where she also ran cross country and track.
