Eden youngster Jack Caldwell is on his way to Tasmania after placing fourth in the NSW All Schools Cross Country championships in Sydney last week.
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After finishing in 10th place last year, 11-year-old Jack has been running every afternoon after school (on top of getting up and swimming most mornings) in an effort to improve his time and make the top five.
He ran the three kilometre course in a lighning fast 11 minutes and 47 seconds and said he was only around 11 seconds behind the boy who finished in first place.
Jack is now part of the NSW team which will be competing in the School Sport Australia Cross Country Championships at Rokeby in Hobart from August 11-14.
He said he is very excited to go to his first ever National Championship event and hopes he can get a better start than what he had in Sydney on Friday, July 21.
“I was coming last at the start so then I just started working my way back and counting the people I passed and who was in front of me,” he said.
“I really wanted to make top five and I was only a few meters behind the people in front ot me.”
Jack, who doesn’t have a running coach and simply runs by himself with music, will now be competing against the best young runners in the country.
He said he is hoping he will be able to finish in the top 20.