Chennai Moore, 10, making waves of road race circuit

CHENNAI Moore has been turning heads for her ability to run long distances.

Chennai, who is only ten years old, has been winning 5K and 10K events against experienced runners three and four times her age.

On Independence Day, Chennai along with her mother Marlene, her uncle O'Neal Paponette and other members of her family left Valencia before 4 am to compete in the Nisco 10K event in Penal.

She won the women's race in 49 minutes, defeating experienced runners Shardie Mahabir and Christine Regis.

"That same time I wanted to run," Chennai told Newsday Kids, beaming with pride on how quickly she completed the race.

Chennai, a student of Valencia South Government Primary School, was surprised to beat all the older runners.

In June, Chennai also won a race as she finished first among all women in the Annual Sweaters 5K Fun Run/Walk in Sangre Grande.

Chennai's mother said her daughther has always loved running. "It started way back in 2016, she was only three...since that time she started and she liked it. She use to cry when we don't go (to run)."

During the covid19 pandemic, her mother said she would run around the house when she was just six or seven years old asking her family to run with her in the yard.

Before a race Chennai gets nervous, but she tries to stay calm. "I talk to myself. It is just a race," she said.

She does not eat much breakfast before a morning race, drinking water to get ready for the race.

Chennai, who runs with Cheetahs Athletic Club, likes running long distances the most but has been running other races also.

She participated in the National Association of Athletics Associations Juvenile Championships at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain on August 26 and 27. In the girls Under-11 800-metre race, Chennai had her best performance finishing second.

"I ran the 800m, the 150m, the 80m and the 300m, but I like the long distances. I got one medal. I came second in the 800m."

All young runners, like Chennai, dream of competing at the Olympic Games or the World Championships. The 2023 World Championships was held in August in Hungary and Chennai looked at the races on TV.

"I like Noah Lyles," Chennai said. Lyles, an American athlete who trains with TT runner Jereem Richards, won three golds at the games.

"I want to compete in the 3,000m at the Olympics." In that event, runners must complete seven and a half laps around the stadium track.

Asked how much she will have to train to run for TT, she said, "Real hard, seven days a week." It is not difficult to notice Chennai as she often runs in colourful socks.

Chennai's uncle O'Neal supports her running dreams as when he finishes work on afternoons they would run together.