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Top results for cross country runners
East Three team shows its winning form at Yellowknife event

Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, October 30, 2014

INUVIK
The East Three Secondary School cross-country running team ran its competition to ground Oct. 19 at the Yellowknife Cross-country Run.

NNSL photo/graphic

Dalton McLeod, kneeling, Julienne Chipesia and Deklen Crocker of the East Three Secondary School Running Club all did well at a recent meet in Yellowknife. In the back is head coach Kenzie MacDonald. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

The school sent six team members and two coaches to the meet, collecting some outstanding results along the way.

Julienne Chipesia took first place in the midget girls 3 km division while Alexander Robertson won first place in the junior boys 6.5 km race.

Chipesia was taking some good-natured teasing from other team members during an interview Oct. 28 at the school over her results.

"You came in first in a field of one," one of the other runners blurted out with a chuckle.

Because she was the only runner in her category, Chipesia ran with her male counterparts over the same distance, something she said she was thankful for.

"It helped keep me focused and made it easier to run," she said with a smile.

She finished with a time of 19 minutes, 32 seconds.

She's been a member of the running club for the last year. The multi-sport athlete is particularly talented in swimming and snowshoeing.

Chipesia said she uses running to stay in condition for both those sports, although she does enjoy the sport on its own merits.

Deklen Crocker took fourth in the 6.5 km juvenile boys event while Braeden Picek placing second in the midget boys three-km race.

"That's the longest distance I've ever run. I like running for the challenge of it," he said.

Picek's performance was particularly noteworthy since, as he candidly admitted, he went the wrong way twice in the race in the same spot.

"The trails were a bit confusing," he added with a smile.

It seems likely he would have finished first had he not become confused by the trail system.

"I was in first place on the first lap," Picek said sheepishly. "I wound up finishing a close second."

He finished with a time of 12 minutes, 42.1 seconds.

Picek said he's been running for about two years.

"You feel a sense of accomplishment when you're done," he said.

Robertson's time was 32 minutes 1.1 seconds for first in the junior boys 6.5 km race.

Kenzie MacDonald is the head coach of the club. He said he was very happy with the results for the team.

"They all placed in the top five of their races. It's just hard work. The kids worked hard and competed and when you do that, you get the results you deserve.

"They want to do it, and they're really motivated, so I don't have to do much as a coach. I just tell them when to stop because they look like they're going to die. They can run through the vomit," he added with a wink.

The Yellowknife meet was the primary outdoor race the club members will have this year, MacDonald said.

Many of the runners are also on the school's track and field team, and will compete in Hay River at the territorial championships in the spring.

This year, he was in the enviable position of being able to take the entire club to the meet in Yellowknife.

Sometimes, as was the case in 2013, MacDonald has had to whittle the numbers down to the best athletes.

The six-member 2014 team, though, is about average in size.

While there's no lack of runners in Inuvik, MacDonald said there are some challenges for training.

In 2013, an unusually warm autumn allowed the club to train outside much more comfortably than normal.

This fall has been more typical, with snow on the ground for about three weeks now.

That's made it harder to motivate the runners to train outside, MacDonald acknowledged. However, he has a simple motto.

"If they can handle running at 8 C, they can handle running at -8 C too," he said. "I try to get them prepared for all sorts of weather."

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