Sawyer Nicholson, 11, of Canada, broke the world age-group record during the Niagara Falls International Marathon’s 5K this past weekend. The young speedster ran 17:28.10 en route to smashing the world record for her age group.

The 11-year-old from Stouffville, Ontario, also finished first overall, picking up the win to go with her newly minted world record. The effort was faster than her previous personal best by almost 30 seconds. Her time was also more than 80 seconds quicker than Mike Gigliotti, who won the men’s race in 18:49 and placed second overall.

Nicholson said that even though she felt tired on race day, she was feeling strong during the event and was happy that weather conditions at the race had gone her way. “It was pretty windy on the way back, and there was a little bit of rain by the falls, but overall it was pretty good,” she said to the outlet.

Nicholson attributed her positive thinking to her overall success during the race, and Canadian Running asked her about her approach to running a 5K. “I would say just do your best and take it easy,” she said. “Just focus on yourself and don’t worry about what other people are doing. And always believe in yourself and believe that you can do anything! Nothing is impossible.”

Her world record has been in the works for a while now. In September 2022, Nicholson ran her first road race, Toronto’s Oasis Zoo Run, with an impressive time of 19:25, taking first place for women. And this month, she’s dipped under the sub-18 barrier three times, running 17:56 at the Toronto Women’s 5K and 17:59 at the Toronto Waterfront 5K.

According to the runnersworld