11-year-old Wins 5K In New Jersey

The pre-teen breaks the tape in a personal-best time.

The women’s champion at the Little Silver Classic, a 5K race in New Jersey over the weekend, stopped the clock in 19:46.

Nothing earth-shattering about that.

The real news, however, was the runner’s age: 11.

Catherine Wimmer, who started running during the summer of 2012, was the first female to cross the finish line. The pre-teen broke her previous 5K best by more than a minute.

Wimmer got her start in running by joining her mother for portions of her half-marathon training last year. She gradually improved her run times from there.

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After Robert Cavanaugh worked with her during a six-week running camp earlier this year, he started coaching her one-on-one.

“After the first couple of sessions I realized that Catherine had a lot of potential and was committed to improving,” Cavanaugh told Runner’s World. “With her continued commitment to running, I am confident she will drop her time considerably over the next year.”

A few minutes before Wimmer broke the tape on Sunday, Cavanaugh did the same in the men’s race. He won the title with a time of 16:10.

For More: Runner’s World