Peggy Revell
St. Francis student Sydney Radigan crossed the finish line with flying colours at the Mid-Canada Cross-Country Championship in Thunder Bay on Saturday.
The Grade 5 student came in 32nd out of 222 participants in the three-km run, which placed her in the top 15 percent amongst students ranging from Grade 4-8.
“My favourite part was probably the end with everyone cheering me on,” Radigan said about the race.
“My mom and dad said that when I was at the finish line, they thought I wouldn’t be there so soon, and I was one of the first Grade 5 girls to cross the finish line,” she added.
It’s a good result, she said, especially when she was running against older students.
“They go faster because they’re a lot taller,” she noted.
Radigan was chosen to represent her school after finishing well at the district cross-country meet held at Crossroads School in Devlin earlier this month.
To prepare for this bigger run, Radigan said she practised both at school with other students and at home, where she would run from her house to the mailbox (which was another street over).
And her strong finish came despite a cramp in her leg before the race and feeling nervous, she noted.
“So I just thought about how it was going to be over once I finish the race, so I don’t really have to worry about it until next year,” she recalled. “And then the teacher just blew the whistle and I went!”
