Things are not always a breeze for her, but, unlike some young athletes, Hydel High’s Alana Reid has mastered the art of using failure as her fuel.

It is the belief that failure is nothing to be ashamed of that drives the rising sprint sensation who is known for performing with passion and giving her all each time she steps on the track.

Such qualities were again displayed by Reid on Wednesday’s second day of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships when she clocked a breathtaking 10.92 seconds to take the girls’ Class One 100-metre title at the National Stadium.

The time clocked with a 1.0 m/s tailwind was not only a National Under-20 record, but also annihilated Veronica Campbell Brown’s 22-year-old championship mark of 11.13s set back in 2001. The previous National U-20 record was 10.95s set by Tina Clayton last year.

“To be honest, I have had my fair share of ups and downs and even had times when I doubted myself and my abilities. But I had to learn that as an athlete failures will come and so I positioned myself mentally to accept it if it does and use it as motivation to improve my time and my form each time I went to a meet,” Reid told the Jamaica Observer.

“With that mindset I regained my focus mainly on my start and finish in training. So I am proud of myself to be honest, because at the start of the season it was kind of rocky, but I picked up myself from there. I had times when I felt low, but I normally say a word of prayer and that helped me to keep going,” she added.

Besides wearing her faith on her bib, Reid pointed out that her record-breaking performance was also spurred by the fact that she possesses three main sources of influence — family members, coaches and teammates — social agents that form a complex and multifaceted network integral to her career progress.

“My mom [Karen Chisholm] has always been there for me at every track meet no matter what, and whether it is schoolwork or whatever, she is always there, not to mention my dad [Garfield Reid] so I just came out here and did my best and I am pleased with my performance,” she said.

“It’s a really great feeling, like I said before I came out here I showed my coach 10 fingers, so coming out here I already had the push and the drive to perform at my best and I have teammates who from this [Wednesday] morning were saying they wanted a sub-11 clocking so I did just that,” Reid declared.

The 18-year-old paid special homage to her Coach Corey Bennett, who she said assisted her in better understanding her reason for showing up to practice every day.

“Like I said, I normally doubt myself, but having the right coach and a team that is there for you is the perfect source of motivation for an athlete to go out and do her best. So my coach definitely helped to bring the puzzle pieces together and I always put Christ before in everything I do, so before I run, whether in training or competition, I always breathe a word of prayer and it has helped me throughout,” the fairly eloquent athlete shared.

With the staggering 100m performance now adding impetus to her charge, Reid is now ready to make the transition to the University of Oregon late this year.

But before that, the final-year Class One athlete is hoping to bring the curtains down on her secondary school exploits in a classy manner, possibly by lowering the 200m record of 22.53s set by Brianna Lyston last year.

Reid comfortably won her heat yesterday in 24.51s.

“Honestly, yes, I expect much better from myself in the 200m, it is just for me to go back now and rest and come back to do my utmost best to show everyone my talent. If it [the record] comes I’ll take it.

“It would further motivate me to go harder there [at Oregon] and improve both academically and on the track and see where things take me from there,” the World Under-20 bronze medallist ended.