The 16 year old Summerside resident will get her chance next weekend when the top young track and field athletes in the country come to Charlottetown for the Royal Canadian Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships. The team met Thursday night in Charlottetown to go over final preparations and pick up uniforms.
"This is kind of making it seem all real," Walker said. and I get to run in front of my friends and family."
Coach Keith Tanton told the athletes to strive to improve on their own records.
"A lot of people get pretty anxious when they go to events of this scale," he said.
"What I always tell every athlete is always to work towards your personal bests. You can’t control what anybody else does that comes here. All you can do is be the best you’ve been."
Joel Doran did just that last year in Ottawa in his first year competing at the legion event. He competed in the 800 metre and the 4×400 metre relay.
"You get real excited before the big race," he said.
This year the 16 year old Pleasant Grove resident will also be competing in the 1,500 metre and the 4×100 metre relay, bringing his total number of events to four.
Athletes will arrive on Wednesday, participate in clinics on Thursday and compete Friday, Saturday and Sunday. More than 800 participants are expected at the event, which will be hosted at the Alumni Canada Games Place at UPEI.
This is the first time the event, which began in 1977, will be held on Prince Edward Island. That fact is not lost on the athletes.
"It’s great to have a national (level) track on the Island. A few years ago we never have this," Doran said of the facility that opened in 2009. "It’s been a great track to practice on."
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