Garfield Gordon on the move
By Dania Bogle
Long distance running is not something Jamaicans are known for but within the last year the Mavis Bank Track Club has been producing some fine middle and long distance runners.
Sixteen year old Garfield Gordon has won all three races in the Best Dressed Chicken 5K Road Race series as well as the Nuttall 5K and finished second in the Tru Juice 5K.
All of that within the last year since the club was formed. Gordon told MilesplitJa that he started middle distance running as a student at Minto Primary School in Hagley Gap, St. Thomas in Jamaica.
“I started running on sports day and I did well so I kept on doing it,” he said.
After graduating from Minto Primary and matriculating to the nearby Mavis Bank High School, Gordon continued training.
“It’s the best thing that I can do…I can’t sprint,” he said.
After being noticed about a year go by coach Devon Grant, Gordon was invited to join the Mavis Bank Track Club.
The young athlete, who enters fourth form this term, has been on the improve ever since. He posted 17 minutes and 46 seconds to finish second in the Tru Juice 5 kilometre race in June and has posted a personal best of 17 minutes and 22 seconds on the road.
His fastest time running 5000m on an all-weather track is 16 minutes 46 seconds.
He has some challenges which he hopes to work on as he continues to train: “Whenever I run fast I’m always tired at the end.”
However his coach has big ambitions for the club members over the next year.
He hopes to lower his personal best to 14 minutes in time for Jamaica’s annual Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Associations Boys & Girls Athletic Championships in 2014.
In his quest he plans enter the Reggae Marathon and several 10K events this year in his quest.
Balancing school and athletics can also be difficult as Gordon often has to wake up early in the morning to training before classes and again late in the evenings after school.