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Scheduled almost directly on the heels of the OFSAA Championships, the Legion District "H" Track and Field Meet allows many of the top athletes in the area to continue to build on the momentum they established in high-school, leading right up and through the provincial showdown.

For Alison Symington, however, the event that was staged this past Saturday at the Laurentian University track constituted a chance at redemption.

A highly touted grade nine athlete at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, Symington had qualified comfortably for the final of the midget girls 1500m race in Guelph two weeks ago, with her best event (800m) still a couple of days away.

Disaster would strike in the 1500m final. "I tried to pass someone, but then tripped over the (inside) rail, so it was my fault," said Symington. The end result was a sprained ankle, one which would force her to re-focus her high school goals towards 2020.

Considering that the OFSAA finalists (800m) qualified in times ranging from 2:20 to 2:24 or so, and that Symington had clipped through at that pace at NOSSA, without being pushed, taking a seat on the sidelines was hardly an ideal introduction to the huge setting that is the annual high-school track and field championships.

"I was really down, but then my mom convinced me to go to the athletic banquet," said Symington. "I won the track award, which kind of inspired me to keep going." At Legions, she would establish two new meet records, taking first place in both the 800m (2:24.68) and the 1200m (4:01.44), with plenty more in the tank.

"I haven't done a lot of training, lately, so I was pretty tired in the first hundred metres," she said, shortly after the 800m was completed. "I guess I kind of pushed through. It's not a PB - I consistently ran that time all year, so I was happy that I wasn't too slow."

While the District team has not yet been finalized, one would expect that Symington will garner serious consideration, which matches up well with her thoughts for the next four to six weeks.

"I'm really hoping to have the month to get ready for provincial Legions," she said. "I find that running is fine, it's more the lateral movements on my ankle that are a problem. I should be OK to train three times a week - I really need it."

Symington was not the only one setting new records on Saturday.

Lo-Ellen teammate Kurtis Wennerstrom, fresh off returning from a gruelling outdoor education camping trip, summoned enough energy to rewrite the standard for both the boys 17 & under long jump (6.43m), as well as the triple jump (13.95m), the latter establishing a new personal best with a leap that ranks among the elite in the country, in his age class this year.

After having set a new mark in the high-jump at the city championships, Logan Spicer electrified the sprint crowd, clocking in at 11.05 seconds in the 100m dash in the boys 17 & under division, a time that would erase the high-school best of 11.07 seconds (Eric Roque - 2008) should Spicer be able to duplicate it next May.

Now under the guidance of Olympic hero Robert Esmie, Lasalle Secondary freshman Josh McKay, running with Air Blastoff, pencilled himself in as the new standard bearer in the boys 15 & under 200m dash (23.87 seconds) and 300m (39.85), also taking first in the 100m distance (11.56).

Remaining local winners included:

Boys 17 and Under Division
Javelin - Bradley Bertrand - Sacré Coeur - 42.52m
Pole Vault - Dulain Abeyratne - Lockerby - 2.30m
High Jump - Logan Spicer - Track North - 1.93m
3000m - Kendyn Mashinter - Lo-Ellen Park - 9:46.30
1500m - Kendyn Mashinter - Lo-Ellen Park - 4:35.81
400m - Aidan Lowe - Lasalle - 53.46

Girls 17 and Under Division
Javelin - Samantha Norwood - Marymount - 18.38m
Discus - Samantha Norwood - Marymount - 17.30m
Shot Put - Samantha Norwood - Marymount - 7.00m
Triple Jump - Chandyn Bachiu - Lo-Ellen - 10.01m
Long Jump - Chandyn Bachiu - Lo-Ellen - 4.85m
Pole Vault - Hannah Nykilchyk - Lockerby - 2.65m
2000m steeplechase - Meredith Kusnierczyk - Lo-Ellen - 8:18.80
100m hurdles - Fiona Symington - Lo-Ellen - 16.43
3000m - Avery Sutherland - Deerlegs Run - 11:22.40
1500m - Avery Sutherland - Deerlegs Run - 5:15.85

Boys 15 and Under Division
Discus - Ryan Lawson - Lasalle - 24.92m
Triple Jump - Kieran Fitzgerald - Lo-Ellen - 11.11m
Long Jump - Ethan Shoup - Lo-Ellen - 5.17m
Pole Vault - Eli Gerhardt - Lockerby - 2.20m
100m hurdles - Kieran Fitzgerald - Lo-Ellen - 15.46

Girls 15 and Under Division
Triple Jump - Charlotte Eberlein - Lasalle - 9.67m
1500m steeplechase - Jill Kusnierczyk - Lo-Ellen - 6:32.67
200m hurdles - Amanda Symington - Lo-Ellen - 32.95

 

 

 

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Of all the things that can go wrong on a run, there are few things that are more pesky than getting a side stitch. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent them—and even stop one in its tracks. Below, we detail what side stitches actually are, why they occur, and how to make sure you don’t get sidelined by one in the future so you can keep crushing your training runs and races.

What Is a Side Stitch?
According to running coach and exercise physiologist Susan Paul, that sharp, stabbing pain you get in your side is sometimes thought to be a muscle spasm of the diaphragm. “The diaphragm muscle is instrumental in breathing, and it can get fatigued like any other muscle,” she explains. “A spasm affects the muscle, supporting ligaments, tendons, and the surrounding connective tissue, known as fascia.”

What Causes a Side Stitch?
There are many theories as to why stitches occur, and one of them factors in what and when you eat prerun, according to Terrence Mahon, former high-performance coach for the Boston Athletic Association. Eating or drinking something that doesn’t agree with you—such as something too acidic or too complex to be absorbed quickly—can spur a side stitch on, he says. Another theory has to do with your breathing. If your breaths are too shallow, it doesn’t provide adequate oxygen to working muscles, including the diaphragm. Going from standing to a full sprint may save you time on the watch, but it can create these irregular, rapid-fire breathing patterns, which can leave you bending over in pain.

How to Get Rid of a Side Stitch
Slow down and exhale to release the stitch—implement this strategy, and it should go away in seconds. If you can’t stop running, say in a race for example, slow your pace and exhale as the foot on the opposite side of the stitch strikes the ground. This doesn’t mean every time that foot hits the ground, but as you exhale, do so in sync with that opposite side. When you exhale, you use the muscles of your diaphragm. When this happens in unison with your foot striking the ground, the impact forces travel up the body and through your core (your side, too) and exacerbate (piss off) the muscles in spasm creating that stitch. When you change the side of the landing forces to the opposite side, the tension causing the stitch can release. For example, if your stitch is in your right side, slow your pace and exhale as your left foot hits the ground.

How to Prevent a Side Stitch
There are three ways you can prevent side stitches from sidelining you on a future run:

1. Eat mindfully prerun. Foods that are higher in fat and fiber take longer to digest. That doesn’t mean they are bad foods, but if you eat them within one to two hours before a run, they can cause havoc—creating an upset stomach, a side stitch, and numerous other problems. Experiment with a variety of foods prerun, eat lightly, and give yourself plenty of time to digest. One person’s perfect prerun fuel is another’s disaster, so find what works best for you in your training.

2. Invest in a solid warmup. Invest in two to three minutes of brisk walking or dynamic stretching, then gradually working into an easy running effort and into your planned running workout pace. Doing so will increase the quality of your workout and decrease the risk of stitches that arise from shallow, rapid, and irregular breathing.

3. Regulate your breathing. Run like a swimmer—with efficient breathing patterns that are in sync with your body. Swimmers can only breathe when their faces are out of the water (obviously), so they focus much of their time learning their breathing tempo and matching it to the rhythm of their stroke. Runners can benefit from the same technique by matching their breathing to their strides—inhaling for two to four strides and exhaling for the same. The faster the pace, the shorter the sequence (fast pace = one or two strides per breath, slower = three or four strides per breath). This can not only prevent stitches, but also improve the efficiency of your oxygen transport. Plus, it’s a great way to keep in touch with your running effort levels without a watch.