Two girls from P.S. 102 in Elmhurst finished in two of the three top spots for their age bracket in the first-ever New York Road Runners (NYRR) Kids’ Boardwalk Run at the Airbnb Brooklyn Half on May 16. Hundreds of children, ages 7 to 18, from all five boroughs competed in heats based on age.
Skyi Velasco, 11, finished in second place, with a time of 6:10 and Kallie Sanchez, 13, came in third place with a time of 6:13 in the 11- to 13-year-old girls one-mile heat. They also placed third and fifth, respectively, out of nearly 300 female runners.
The out-and-back course started and ended at the half-marathon finish line. The kids ran in their heats and all participants earned a finisher ribbon as well as a set of bright green sunglasses. The top three finishers in each heat also received a medal and tickets to the New York Aquarium.
Both girls participate in the NYRR Young Runners youth program. The young runners program use team-based structure to help kids learn important lessons about how to set and achieve goals and to make activity a part of their daily lives.
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