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Sophie represents Bedfordshire at English Schools track & field champs

  • Posted July 11, 2022

Sophie represents Bedfordshire at English Schools track & field champs

Congratulations to Sophie Jacobs, who raced for Bedfordshire in the Inter girls 1500m final at the ESAA champs in Manchester on Saturday. She was 9th in a time of 4:40.77, her third-fastest time over this distance.

Here’s what Sophie had to say about her English Schools experience.

‘I had a really good time in Manchester and I’ve gained lots of experience. I was very proud to represent my school and my county.

‘Day 1: Before my 1500m heat on the Friday, I wasn’t too nervous; I was excited to see what I could do. I hadn’t been in a proper championship race before, so it was all new. Everyone was quite close together and there was a bit of shoving, but in the latter stages I managed to get around some of the girls and come 5th in my heat, qualifying for the final in one of the fastest loser spots (and as a bottom year). I was really happy about this, as it was my goal going into the competition, and I made sure to take care of myself for the rest of the day as I knew the final the following day was going to be tough. I was looking forward to the challenge, though!

‘Day 2: Running in the final was a new experience for me, because I’d never run races two days in a row. Surprisingly, I was less nervous than the day before. From the beginning, I was near the back, and was kind of stuck there because everyone was running very wide and close together, so it was hard to get round them. We also ran the first lap slower than the heat, so when we came through at around 800m and two of the front runners suddenly accelerated, I was unaware that they’d made a move as I was at the back of the bunch.

‘I can learn from this: next time, I would probably try to get more in the middle of the pack from the beginning, and go out harder. With a lap to go, I was in 12th place (last). I knew that even though I wasn’t in contention for the medals, I didn’t want to be last, and I managed to overtake three of the girls and finish 9th. I’m happy with how I ran, and proud of myself for making the final. Now that I’ve reflected on what I could have done differently, I’m eager to race here again next year and do even better!

‘Overall, I had an amazing time and I can’t wait to do it all again!’

All results are at https://entry4sports.co.uk/#/results-read/364/6803