Local runner goes worldwide

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Rebecca Stokes, a 12-year-old from Peachtree City, has had a busy summer.

Stokes is a member of the Fayette Flames youth track team and is a living definition of the word "runner." She competed in events all over the country before heading across the Atlantic Ocean and running in the Scottish Highland Games.

Stokes began her summer competing with the Flames, practicing with the Starr's Mill cross-country team and running with the Peachtree City Running Club. In the DeKalb Youth Games Championship, Stokes ran a personal best 12:14.07 in the 3,000-meter race and finished first. She then competed in the USA Track and Field Youth national Championships at Milikin University in Decatur, Ill. She finished 22 in the 800-meter with a personal best time of 2:40, while finishing 13th in the 3,000-meter.

Stokes then returned home to compete in the Georgia Games. She won the 800-meter race with a time of 2:40 and won the 3,000-meter race with a time of 12:29.41. Stokes also finished with a silver medal in the 1,500 with a time of 5:42.76. Stokes then traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah and ran in the Deseret News 10K. She finsihed second in her division with a time of 49:42. That time was good enough to finish 223 overall out of 1,144 women competing.

Stokes then stayed in Utah for a week and participated in the Brigham Young University cross country camp. The coach of the women's cross country team at BYU is a relative of Stokes and the BYU team has placed first or second in the nation over the past four years. From Utah, Stokes joined her family and flew to Scotland to compete in the Highland Games where she won her division in the 800 meter race.

Now that she's back in school, she has a breather of sorts. Stokes plans on running with the Peachtree City Flash youth track team this fall and running in the PTC Classic in October.

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