ODA cross country sixth-graders showcase 'sick' speed

If you combined the ages of The Out-of-Door Academy girls cross country runners Aubrey Robbins and Abbey Burwood, the sum would still be younger than me, and I’m 23.

The girls, both 11-year-old, sixth-graders, are crushing many of their high school senior opponents.

“It’s sick, it’s honestly sick,” ODA coach Jeff Taylor said of the times they have been posting. "They have spot-on running form, which is important for runners their age.”

Both girls are in the top-five on ODA’s varsity team, meaning they contribute to the team score. It’s not a coincidence that ODA is performing well overall, a year after only fielding a full team for three meets.

At the Tri-County Championships meet, arguably the biggest of the regular season, on Oct. 12, Robbins finished the 5K in 23:42.12, good for 22nd individually. That's not out of middle schoolers ... out of everyone. Burwood wasn’t far behind, finishing in 24:33.90.

Those aren’t even their best times. At the North Port Invitational on Sept. 23, Robbins finished in 23:04.80 (14th) and Burwood in 23:24.60 (26th). Robbins’ time was 14 seconds behind top ODA runner Maeve Studdiford, a freshman, who finished 12th. They and junior Cayla Dammann, who finished 13th, ran in a pack the whole race. Robbins didn’t struggle to stay with the veteran runners.

At that race, Taylor told Burwood at the two-mile mark that she had to finish strong for ODA to win the team title. She listened. 

ODA won the girls meet by 10 points over Palm Harbor University High.

"She was passing people like they were standing still,” Taylor said. “I was like, ‘Wow, what just happened?’”

Taylor first met the girls over the summer at the Great Father’s Day Beach Run on June 17 at Siesta Key Beach. He knew they were joining his program, but he had never seen them run a 5K. Immediately, he knew they would be something special.

He said it’s not all natural talent. Robbins and Burwood have a disciplined work ethic, he said. He will often send pairs out for 30 minute runs to keep them in shape. When the sixth-graders come back, they always check their watches. They know they can’t stop at 28 minutes, he said, so they’ll take laps around the track to finish the workout strong.

Meanwhile, Taylor is careful with them. He only raced them in two 5K races during the season so they didn’t hurt themselves, he said. They ran some 3Ks for fun. Now though, with the postseason upon us, they are needed by the team as much as anyone else.

“It’s fun that we are both so young and beating people,” Robbins said. “I can’t wait for the future because we’re going to be so good.”

No kidding.

Think about how you performed your favorite hobby, six years ago compared to today. That’s how long these two girls have to improve their cross country skills before graduating from ODA.

They’ve been close friends since pre-school at Kids ‘R’ Kids in Lakewood Ranch. Running was not something they bonded over then. That was soccer (they both play for the Lakewood Ranch Chargers) and kickball.

Running came later, when Robbins’ mom, Brooke Robbins, convinced her daughter to take a Sunday morning run last spring. She had the perfect runner’s body type, Robbins’ mom told her. Robbins enjoyed herself, and over summer break, these sessions were bumped to five days a week. They weren’t timed, but they were a good primer. Once Robbins knew she wanted to challenge herself and join ODA cross country, she convinced Burwood to join, too.

Yes, this season is both girls’ first in an official running program, and they’re already this fast.

Get their autographs now — if you can chase them down.