Jody Cain, a sports student at Coleg Menai in Bangor, recently had the honour of representing Wales in the Under-18 International Mountain Running Cup, which took place in the heart of the Roman town of Susa in northern Italy.
The event covered a distance of 4km with 46 athletes from across the world taking part. Italian runner Katja Pattis won the girls’ event in a time of 19 minutes 52 seconds. Caernarfon athlete Jody finished in a time of 23 minutes 16 seconds, helping Wales claim fourth position in the Team event against 14 competing nations.
Jody began running at the age of 8 years old, and was selected for this event following her impressive performance at the trial event held in Betws-y-Coed over the summer.
Jody said, “Representing my country in Susa was a fantastic experience, one which I will cherish forever. It was totally different to the races I normally run over here in Wales, and taught me a lot about myself as a runner.”
“Competing against the best in Europe and the World has inspired and motivated me to push myself harder over the next few years to see if I can one day stand on the podium in the individual events,” she added.
She followed up her Italian adventure by again representing Wales at the trials for the World Mountain Running Championships in Llanberis, finishing sixth in her category behind Scottish winner Lauren Dickson. However, there was some success for Jody on the day as the Welsh team claimed the Bronze medal in the Team event.
Coleg Menai Academi Coordinator Marc Lloyd Williams said: “It is great to see our students excelling in their chosen sport and, as a college, we are extremely proud of Jody’s achievements. The experience she has had this year will not only benefit her in her chosen sport but also in her future career.”
Coleg Menai offers a range of Sports qualifications. If you need more information on any of our courses, please visit our website at www.gllm.ac.uk/ sport or call 01248 370125.
