DuWayne Patriq Jones, 9
Student Athlete

I've been running for 5 years.

I started running because of my big sister, Patrice. We would go to her track practices and I would run as much as I could around the track. I could run 3 miles by age 6 without stopping.

If I could no longer run, I would swim. I love to swim and I love my swim team, the YMCA Stingrays.

My favorite run is the 100 meter dash.

I like to run with my mom. My mom does our warm-up and cool down jog with me and my sister. My sister leaves us but I stick with mom because I love to talk to her during our jog.

Something most people don't know about me is I love to make up rhymes and dance like Chris Brown and Michael Jackson. People say I am a really good dancer too.

My favorite thing to do after a hard workout is eat.

When I'm not running I like to play my DS.

I am inspired by my big sister and my teammates; they make me work harder so I can qualify for nationals.

Running give me confidence, I feel like I am a part of something important when I run with my team, and I feel loved when I run with my family. Running makes me feel popular because I can do more in gym class than other kids. Running is good for me.

The local runner I most admire is, I most admire my Dad, he is a runner too. He runs with us at practice to make us run faster. I hope I can be like him when I get old.

To push myself on a run, I try really hard to catch my sister, sometimes it makes me mad when I can’t catch her, so I try even harder the next time.

My greatest running accomplishment is the 3rd place at the AAU Indoor Nationals in the 400 meter dash this year. I also made it to finals in the 200 and placed 5th in the country for indoor in my age group.

My next goal is to qualify for AAU and USATF Nationals during the summer. It is even harder to make it to nationals during the summer. Only the top 3 for USATF or 4 for AAU will qualify, and hundreds of kids compete.

My advice to other runners is to eat good food. My mom watches what we eat and I know that when she is not around if I eat bad I will pay for it later.

I plan to run until I am old like my parents, they still run and so will I.