ELMORE athlete Zahra Hayes has produced a brilliant performance at the Australian Road Walking Championships in Western Australia, taking out the under-14 women's title.
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The Bendigo Walkers Club member raced to an impressive 12-second victory over WA's Tiahna Ruane on the 3000m course in Albany last Sunday.
The pair stuck together for the first 1500m, then Hayes made her move and passed the 2km mark with a 10-metre lead.
She extended that out to 40m in the last kilometre to secure her first national title with in a time of 15:20 minutes - her fastest in a road walking event.
The 12-year-old Rochester Secondary College student has had an impressive winter season, finishing second at the Athletics Victoria Road Titles, third at the Victorian All Schools and sixth at the Australian Federation Championships in Canberra in June.
This Sunday, Hayes will compete in the Bendigo Walkers Club 3200m handicap race at Lake Neangar.
Anyone interested in having a race walk - including youngsters looking for some competition leading up to the start of the Little Athletics season - is welcome.
Racing starts at 9.30am.