On Friday the 30th May, I competed in the Sussex County Championships as an out-of-county guest in the 2000m Steeplechase final. The race took place in the evening at the outstanding Track and Field complex in Brighton, held at Withdean Stadium, with the event hosted by Brighton and Hove AC.
As it was my first ever Steeplechase race, I started relatively slower than I had in training, as I wanted to ensure I had enough energy to overcome the multiple 91.4cm barriers I had to face — including five water jumps. Being 5’7″, I had to generate a lot more force to clear the barriers, but that didn’t stop me from running one of my most successful races so far. Coming through the first water jump, the splash of cool water hit me with a refreshing surprise, soaking me from the waist down — but it made for a fascinatingly unique experience, one that might have just sealed my passion for this event.
I cleared the hurdles with brilliant momentum, exactly as I had practised in training, and the strategic race pacing helped to minimise fatigue throughout. With 400m to go, the leading group started to stretch out — the cause of this being my brave pace increase, because I had loads to give for a satisfying kick as the bell rang. The atmosphere at Withdean Stadium was incredible, with speakers playing motivational hits, live commentary from the gantry, an engaged audience in the stands, perfect temperatures, and a stunning sunset.
Coming over the last barrier, I knew I’d performed really well and still felt like I had more to give as I crossed the line. Despite that, I managed to clock a time of 6 minutes and 14.24 seconds for the 2000m Steeplechase — a result I was absolutely exuberant with. It provided me with the qualification time needed to represent Surrey County and Tiffin in the English Schools’ National Athletics Championships. It also ranks me 10th in the current UK U20 Men’s steeplechase rankings, and 4th among first-year U20 athletes. I was also ecstatic to receive the news that my time ranked me 1st in Bulgaria for the U20 Men’s category, narrowly beating the previous number 1 time of 6 minutes and 16 seconds.
With the Bulgarian National Championships approaching (on the 28th–29th later this month), this race has fuelled me — not only with determination, but also with confidence for what the rest of the Track season holds. I know I can reduce my current time significantly, and it goes to show that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.
Never would I have thought that when I decided to fully focus on athletics at the start of last year, I’d be in contention for the highest national rankings in any event — let alone Steeplechase!
Now, the next training block focuses solely on improving every aspect of my Steeplechase performance in the build-up to the 3000m Steeplechase U20 Men’s Final in Bulgaria, where I aim to be selected to represent Bulgaria in the Balkan Athletics Championships, and also qualify for the U20 European Athletics Championships in Tampere, Finland this August.
Pancho P – Year 12
