Ruimsig — Ethan Botha, Keegan Coetzee, Joshua Madden, and Milan Botha are in celebratory spirits as they recently achieved great results at the SA Mile Road Championships.

The four were selected to represent Central Gauteng Athletics team following rigorous training and qualifiers.

Keegan came out in third place, followed by Joshua and Milan, who both secured fifth place, and Ethan obtained sixth place. The group explains that they are proud to have competed at a national level, they felt honoured to have been allowed to participate in the championships, and proud of the results they achieved.

Reflecting on what the toughest part of the race was, the runners had a lot to share.

“The last stretch was very tough, my legs were tired and my mind too, but I tried not to think about it and just pushed through,” Milan shared.

Ethan said he felt good from the first 100m to the last 1 000m mark.

“But the last 400m was very tough. I just tried to move my legs as fast as I could,” he added. Keegan shared that the last 400m was tough for him as well, but the finish line gave him extra strength.

Keegan expressed that he is proud of his and the team’s performance.

“I am very happy with the time that I ran and the position that I came in. It was more than I asked for,” Milan said. Ethan, on the other hand, thinks that he performed well in his first Mile Championship.

The team had a lot to learn from racing alongside each other and other runners.

“I learnt that there is almost no strategy for the mile, it is just basically a sprint. My team helped make me faster and pushed me harder, and I got a time that was faster than I expected,” Ethan said.

Milan shared that she grows a lot and becomes more experienced when she runs alongside her competition and teammates.

“I become better and better each time,” she said.

The experience from the championships has prepared the athletes and made them excited for the cross country season, both at the school and club levels. For other young athletes who wish to compete at this level, Joshua shares that it’s not easy; the hard work lies in showing up for training and giving it your all even when you don’t feel like it.

“You may think you can’t do something, but if you believe and put your mind to it, anything is possible,” Milan said. Ethan concluded and said, “Just keep on trying; if you never tried in the first place, then you already failed.