newsexaminer.com – Newsexaminer

May 28, 2019

By GRADY TATE – gtate@newsexaminer.com

It’s time to break out your running shoes and get back on the track again.

For local youths, the second season of the Connersville Summer Youth Running Series is set to open on Thursday.

A five-week set of track meets for children ages 2-14 (participants do NOT need to be Fayette County residents), the Youth Running Series will be run each Thursday evening throughout the five weeks inside the Connersville High School football stadium.

The first four weeks will have distance themes for the runners, while Week 5 of the series has been set aside as a championship meet.

“This season, I decided to add a championship meet at the end of the series for all of the kids to give them the opportunity to race what they wanted and to compete against various age groups,” series coordinator Kelli House said.

The distances the runners will be running through the first four weeks are as follows:

n Week 1 (this Thursday) will focus on sprint distances, as the kids will race between 25-100 meters, depending on their age group. The top three runners in each race will receive awards. In addition, the top three in age divisions 6-14 will make the finals and race 100 meters for the over all top nine awards. 

n Week 2 (June 6) will focus on middle distance runs. The kids will race 50-400 meters depending on their age group. There will be no second race to determine the top nine runners. Instead, the top three runners from each age group will be scored against each other and the top nine will be awarded.

n Week 3 (June 13) will feature distance races, as runners will compete in 100-800 meter events depending on their age group. Similar to Week 2, the top three runners from each age group will be scored against each other and the top nine will receive overall awards. There will be no second race.

n Week 4 (June 20) will be a repeat of the first week of running, as sprints will take center stage once more. Runners will race distances of 25-200 meters depending on their age group. The top three in each race will receive awards. Just as it was in Week 1, the top three in divisions 6-14 will make the finals and race 200 meters for over all top nine awards.

n The championship meet will be held on Week 5 (June 27). Distances at this meet will include 25 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters and 1600 meters. Runners will be permitted to register in two events, with the exception of Pre-K competitors.

“At the championship meet, the runners will get to choose their favorite distances and race against kids of all ages,” House said. “It will add a little bit more competition to the series.” 

Series registration is still open, with a cost of $30 for all five weeks, including a series t-shirt. Those who cannot attend some of the meets can still participate by registering the day of the meet for $5. Cost to run at the championship meet is $10.

Registration for the series ends on May 30th. After that, all race entries will be single race price.

“As of right now, I have about 30 runners pre-registered and a lot of interest from other families,” House said. “I believe that we will have a very high race day registration, so anyone interested in saving some time should make sure that they pre-register. 

Registration forms can be found on the Fayette County Running Club Facebook page. Forms can be mailed to 2827 Indiana Ave or dropped off at the CHS athletic office.