Five minutes is a minuscule amount of time. It’s equal to the time allotted to walk to your next class, or the grace period you receive when you’ve just hit the snooze button on your alarm. Five minutes is also the amount of time it takes Hackley sixth-grader Jonah Gorevic to run a mile. Gorevic currently holds the world record mile time for a ten-year-old at a 5:01.55, having broken the record with time to spare at the Adidas Grand Prix last June at Icahn Stadium.

“I started running four years ago with the Tailwind Track Club,” said Jonah. Jonah has taken home three AAU Cross-Country Championships for the Tailwind Track Club, a program founded and coached by Hackley parent Carl Curran. The team is based in Westchester and is comprised of athletes of all ages. In addition to Jonah, the team has trained numerous athletes for the USATF Indoor National Championships and the USA Triathlon Youth Elite National Championships.

Jonah trains four days a week with the Tailwind Track Club.

“I run about 10-15 miles per week. I run one tempo workout during the week and go to Rockefeller Park (a park in Sleepy Hollow) on the weekends for a distance run,” Jonah explained. Several Hackley Middle School students participate alongside Jonah on the Track Club: James Spencer, Eve Spencer, and Olivia Curran. Together, they train for elite youth athletic competitions around the country.

“After trying to assist another youth track team get organized and build a consistent training program for approximately a year, a group of parents approached me and asked if I would just start a team of my own,” explained Tailwind head coach Carl Curran. Coach Curran built on his experience training his own children, senior and star-swimmer Tyler, and varsity cross-country runner Olivia, for twelve years. “I spent a few weeks considering what that meant and consulting my family and decided to go for it. We launched the team this summer with 11 athletes. Our roster now contains over 30 athletes.”

“All the kids show up excited to practice no matter what the weather, which I know is a testament to coach Curran’s charisma and attitude. It’s always a nurturing environment that pushes the kids to do better while incorporating an element of fun. Jonah and the whole group’s results have definitely proven that the system is working,” said Hackley graduate Pietro Moran, who worked at the Club last summer as an assistant coach.

Jonah, like all the Tailwind athletes, is backed by sustained parental support.

“My parents are very supportive of my running career. They both run. My Dad has run three marathons and my Mom has run one marathon and five half-marathons,” said Jonah. Coach Curran expressed gratitude for all the parents who consistently support their athletes at Tailwind.

“My team parents are amazing. I couldn’t do it without their help. They have helped me with the incorporation, all registration/administration, organization of kids at meets, and allow me to focus on coaching.”

Outside of running, Jonah enjoys playing soccer and taekwondo. His future goals are very specific:

“I definitely want to run varsity cross-country in high school. When I grow up I’d like to be a professional athlete, hopefully a pro distance runner.”

In the last month, Jonah qualified for the under-12 800m run at the Millrose Games (the premier indoor track meet in the country) by winning his qualifying race in a time of 2:22. Jonah is also preparing for USATF Indoor Nationals where he hopes to qualify for the 1500m and the 3000m. In the summer, Jonah will attempt to break five minutes and capture the 11-year-old boys’ record in the mile, which currently stands at a 4:55.

Update 2/14/15: At the NYRR Millrose Games on February 14, the most prestigious indoor track meet in the world, Jonah won the Youth 800 meter race in 2:18.20.