Two young runners are turning heads on London’s parkrun circuit, and they are doing it before most kids finish primary school.
Daniyal Janmohamed, 10, and his sister Lily, 9, both broke 5-kilometre records at Battersea in southwest London. Lily ran 19 minutes and 45 seconds, the current British record for a 9-year-old girl. Daniyal ran 18 minutes and 3 seconds, which was also a record until it was broken last weekend.
Their father, Faizal Janmohamed, 41, said the pair are competitive, especially with each other, but keep it friendly.
“They are both very competitive, especially with each other.
“They are very passionate and they train very hard because they want to be the best at what they do.
“Lily will tease her brother that she has the higher age grading, and her brother will tell her that when he was 9 years old, he got a time of 18:19.
“So, it is friendly banter between both siblings, but they are both very close and they love running together,” said Faizal, a marketing worker from Stanmore in northwest London.
Daniyal started running three years ago after placing fourth out of 60 boys in a school competition. Faizal said his son was surprisingly fast, and Daniyal then started training three times a week at a running club while also racing at school.
Lily took up running after watching her brother and now trains at the same club.
“When Daniyal started running, Lily wanted to join too.
“Many times I thought she would stop, but she stuck at it, and there is nothing more she loves than going for a running training session.
“They both run together in events for their club and it is so nice to see brother and sister competing together, brother in the boys race and sister in the girls race.
“Both of my children are quite good endurance runners. Daniyal especially has very good stamina. His body is used to running longer distances,” Faizal said.
Faizal said the children have a healthy diet and a good sleep routine. He also said Daniyal supports Lily and helps her with her watch.
“I am very happy to see them excelling but the most important thing is them enjoying it. The best thing for me is that I never have to push them to do it,” he said.
Daniyal wants to be a marathon runner and also hopes to play table tennis professionally. He is currently ranked fourth in the UK for his age group in table tennis. Lily’s favourite distance is 800 metres, which she runs in 2:39. Daniyal’s favourite track distance is 1,500 metres and he is hoping to run sub-five minutes this season.
Faizal said the family did not know there were records at Battersea Parkrun when the children set their times, and said they only run three 5-kilometre races a year.
According to the organisers, about 8 percent of people taking part in parkrun events across the UK last week were aged between 4 and 19.
Daniyal said: “I wanted to get a sub-18-minute time before I turn 11, and I knew it would be really difficult since my last run was in February. But I was determined to do it.
“I don’t think my dad thought I would make it, but I pushed him to let me try anyway. I’m so happy I did it. I knew I could. The first 3K felt amazing. I felt really strong. But the last 2 kilometers got tough.
“When my dad’s friend told us that I had broken the 10-year-old boys record at Battersea Parkrun, I was over the moon as I didn’t even know it existed!”
Lily added: “Running makes me feel so free and strong, like I can do anything. I love chasing new goals and getting better each time.
“I’m going to keep training hard and keep believing in myself, just like everyone believes in me.”
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