THE HUDSONS' CHILDREN'S STORY HAS LEGS SUCCESS OF TOMMY, 10, MAKES RUNNING A FAMILY AFFAIR.Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer The question surrounding Tommy Hudson has evolved from whether he could keep up to whether anyone can keep up with him. Since convincing his marathon-running dad to let him tag along tag along Verb to accompany someone, esp. when uninvited: I tagged along behind the gang Verb 1. on training sessions, the 10-year-old Hudson has developed into one of the region's top competitive youth distance runners distance runner n. A runner who competes in distance races. . As a member of the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Warriors and Valley Striders, Hudson finished first in the association's bantam Bantam Former city and sultanate, Java. It was located at the western end of Java between the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. In the early 16th century it became a powerful Muslim sultanate, which extended its control over parts of Sumatra and Borneo. boys' division, placed third at last weekend's regionals and earned a berth in next month's Junior Olympics. ``He's an excellent runner,'' Warriors coach Mike McKnight said. ``He has excellent endurance and speed. ``He was a pretty decent runner coming in. I could see talent. He sort of stood out for his age. He's going to show some promise for the future.'' Hudson has been competing for less than two years. ``He got into it with his dad,'' his mother, Jan Hudson, said. ``He was begging his dad, 'Let me run, let me run.' His dad was training for a marathon. John finally said OK, thinking he'd be dragging Tommy along behind him. Before too long, Tommy was outrunning John.'' A successful showing in his first 5-kilometer race at Mammoth mammoth, name for several large prehistoric elephants of the extinct genus Mammuthus, which ranged over Eurasia and North America in the Pleistocene epoch. left Hudson seeking more competition, which he found with the Warriors. At last season's track and field nationals in Buffalo, N.Y., Hudson placed seventh in his age group in the 1,500 meters. He entered a 17-and-under half-marathon in Santa Clarita and won. Hudson, who also earned a team title with the Striders at the regionals, is expected to be among the contenders at the Dec. 13 national Junior Olympics in Albuquerque, N.M. His passion for running was evident after he opted to give up a variety of other sports he used to play, such as baseball, basketball and soccer. Hudson already is striving to run in college for UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . ``He's found his niche,'' Jan Hudson said. He also might have helped uncover another potential standout in sister Amy Hudson. Amy, who turned 9 last month, started running when she grew bored going along four times a week from the family's home in Acton to Tommy's practices in Santa Clarita. ``She said, 'I want to do this' '' Jan Hudson recalled. ``She said, 'Instead of just sitting here, I want to run. I'm going to practice, too.' '' Her family never considered Amy the real athletic type Noun 1. athletic type - muscular and big-boned mesomorphy body type, somatotype - a category of physique - her mom describes her as ``the brain of the family'' who aspires to go to Harvard and become a doctor- but she has also produced encouraging results. Amy earned a spot in last weekend's regional meet in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. as a member of the Valley Striders 'B' team (the Warriors' top runners combined with the Striders for the postseason). She narrowly missed advancing to the Junior Olympics after she finished 30th in the bantam girls' division. ``I only run if somebody's chasing me,'' Jan Hudson said. ``But the kids love it. ``It's great for them talking with their dad about courses they're running that he ran, like Pierce and Mt. SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. . It's something they really enjoy, and we're proud to see them do so well.'' Heather Gripp, (818) 713-3607 heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com |
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