Local athlete Nicole Kitt will be representing the Northeast Alberta Track and Field Club at the 2013 Canadian Youth Legion Track and Field Championships in Langley, B.C. from Aug. 9-11.
Kitt, currently ranked ninth in the country for middle-distance in her age level, is running hot off a pair of strong performances. At the Western Canadian Championships from July 26-28 in Calgary, Kitt won gold in the 2,000-metre steeplechase and bronze in the 3,000-metre run. At the Sherwood Park Classic on July 20 and 21, Kitt picked up gold in the 2,000-metre steeplechase and the 3,000-metre run, although it was incorrectly noted in last week’s Journal that she won silver in both events.
“I’ve been to cross country nationals, but this is the first time for track,” Kitt said. “It’s kind of cool because you get to compete at a higher level, whereas here you usually compete against the same people, and there are a lot of stronger runners out there from B.C., Ontario and Quebec. It’ll be a different race for sure.”
The 16-year-old athlete will enter the national championships in Langley ranked sixth out of the 11 competitors, and her coach Dr. Albert Harmse is very impressed with the way she has progressed to become one of the strongest in the country.
“I think it’s quite something to be in the top ten in the country,” Harmse said, adding that the level of competition will greatly increase when Kitt steps onto the track in Langley. “Four of the top five athletes in the country will be there, so the level of competition is going to be quite intense.”
Kitt noted that the steeplechase is somewhat of a unique event as it involves a special hurdle on the track followed by a two-metre water pit, something that Kitt does not have the luxury of training with in St. Paul.
“My age group runs 2,000 metres, and there are five hurdles spread around the track, but they’re larger and really long compared to normal hurdles,” she said. “One of them out of the five is a water jump with about two metres of water beyond it, so you have to kind of push off with your foot and try to get as far as possible out of the water.”
Harmse pointed out that while St. Paul does not have a steeplechase pit, they have tried a number of methods to simulate the obstacle.
“We have simulated the steeples by letting her run over hurdles, but we do not have a water jump, and that is a very important part of the race. We do other technical stuff, we use the long jump pit and so on, but it’s difficult to simulate the water jump if you do not have such a track,” Harmse said, adding that her success has come through a great deal of dedication. “She’s an extremely dedicated athlete, she trains seven days a week . . . If you were to add up all the of the kilometres that she runs in a week, it varies between 70 and 90 km each week, and a lot of those are very intense kilos.”
Kitt said she has been racing competitively for almost two years, and that she spends countless hours training for her events in a variety of formats every day of the week.
“I’ve just been doing the same thing. My coach and I have been training hard all season so I feel pretty confident going in . . . I train every day, and I do something different every day,” Kitt said, adding that she is grateful for all the help she has received from her coaches and supporters. “I’d like to thank my coaches, especially Dr. Albert Harmse, for coaching me and taking all their time.”
