And for the Chapel Hill / Carrboro Pacers Youth Running Club members and other local talent, the next best thing to running on a home track is running one that's a hop, skip, jump or dash away.

Since the Pacers and so many other athletes hone their skills at UNC's Irwin Belk Track, the signage at the USA Track and Field State Championships this past weekend probably looked very familiar. Competing at North Carolina A&T University's track in Greensboro, which also happens to be named Irwin Belk Track, the athletes enjoyed a home away from home, and perhaps the best thing ... next to Chapel Hill.

This year's National Junior Olympics Championships are set to be held at the same facility, which reflects not only convenience but a potantial shortcut in terms of qualification. Most years, athletes must place in the top five in North Carolina and additionally post a top-three finish at a highly-competitive Southeastern U.S. Regional meet to qualify.

Because North Carolina is hosting the National USATF Championships in August, however, the top three finishers at this past weekend's meet automatically qualify for Nationals. Still, it's easier said than done, as North Carolina is one of the most competitive track and field states in the country.

Among the Pacers, Harrison Young qualified for the National Junior Olympic Championship, thanks to a third-place finish in the 11-12 division javelin competition.

Other notable performances were posted, however, including a personal-best 1:21.44 in the 400-meter dash by Tyler Yandrofski, 9, who also notched a PR in the Bantam Division long jump (11-6).

"I wasn't as nervous this year as I was last year," said Yandrofski, who began competing just last year. In the 400, I tried to run around 90 percent speed until the last 100 meters, and then I ran full-speed."

The long jump competition was Yandrofski's first, however.

"I was kind of nervous, because I knew how it worked," he said. "But I'd never done it at this meet before."

Sonio Kum, 9, posted a 1:31.61 in his first Junior Olympics 400-meter run.

"It was a little scary -- I didn't know anyone," Kum said of the state-level competition that played host to around 2,500 young athletes. "I think I'd run a little slower next time, because when I finished the race, I was a little out of breath."

Still, Kum's strategy was sound: "To have fun."

Eli Rose, 11, was just off the pace in the 1,500-meter run, finishing seventh in 5:32.33 despite a slow start.

"It was my first state meet like this," he said. "I tripped right at the start, so I had to catch up a little."

Other locals also competed well at the State Championships, including Culbreth Middle School alum Grace Morken, who qualified for the National Championships courtesy of a third-place finish (50.25) in a 4x100-meter relay team with three other members of her Triangle Champions squad. Morken also ran well in the 200-meter (27.3) and 400-meter dash (1:03.07).

McDougle Middle School product and OPAC Championships standout John Intintolo came off injuries to compete well in the 100-meter dash.

Nationally elite runner and Chapel Hill resident Eliza Dekker posted a trio of first-place finishes, winning the 3,000-meter run (10:48.12), the 1,500-meter run (4:44.97), and the 800-meter run (2:28.42) under the banner of the Durham Striders Track Team.

The State Junior Olympics Championships marks the end of another successful campaign for the Pacers. Established in the 1970's, the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Pacers Running Club has existed since that time as a non-profit independent running club for boys and girls from seven to 18 years of age. No tryouts are necessary for either the spring track and field season or the upcoming fall cross-country running program.

More than 80 young athletes participated in Pacers' spring season in 2009, co-head coached this year by Meredith Bolon and Randy Young, and assisted by a host of running experts and volunteers. Running is only one of the lessons taught through the Pacers, and competition remains secondary to an emphasis on participation and self-improvement, which is at the heart of the Pacers' philosophy. Still, young club runners competed well in numerous events throughout the course of the spring season.

Pacer girls swept the 12-and-under age group at the Franklin 5,000 event on April 25, as Molly Palmer, 9, finished first (26:57), Emily Easthom, 9, placed second (30:17), and Pacer Mia Hoover, 8, rounded out the top three (32:11).

Claire Pedersen, 9, finished second (25:23) in the 10-and-under division of the Girls on the Run 5K, held on May 2 in the Meadowmont development. Fellow Pacer Nate Bolon, 11, finished fourth in the boys' 11-14 bracket (31:17).

On the same date, Raina Turner, 12, finished fifth (49:25) among girls 19-and-under in the Philosopher's Way Trail Run 7K, while Kevin Gilland, 10, followed up his completion of the Uwharrie Mountain 8-mile Trail Run earlier this year with a third-place finish (39:59) in the Philosopher's Way's 19-and-under bracket.

Trying his hand at multi-sports this spring was Pacer Klaas Van Kempen, 11, whose 1:23.02 was good enough for a fourth-place finish in the Carrboro Classic Duathlon on April 5, edged by former Pacer David Wilke, 12, and his third-place finish (1:17.26).

USATF Junior Olympics competitor Eli Rose, 11, warmed up for the competition season with a tenth-place finish (35:50) in the Swim for Smiles Long Course Youth Triathlon on May 31. Van Kempen, 11, also scored an age-group Swim for Smiles victory.

Just lacing up its running shoes this spring was the Fleet Feet Carrboro's Starting Line Youth Fitness program, presided over by national-caliber runners Jason Jabaut and Trish Nervo. The eight-week program was created to provide an opportunity for children to develop the knowledge and skills to run, maintaining or enhancing well-being.

As the new local program was developed to add to the number of choices available to young runners, it operated in full cooperation with the existing Pacers Running Club, and the two clubs staged joint activities this past season. The next session for the Starting Line program will be this fall. Anyone wanting more information can visit the "training" link website at the Fleet Feet Web site: www.fleetfeetcarrboro.com.

Next up for many of the Pacers, however, will be the cross-country season, scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day. Practices will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the fall through late November. Start times for the one-hour practices will likely be either 4:30 or 4:45 p.m.

For more information, on the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Pacers Running Club program or the upcoming cross-country season, visit www.ccpacers.org, contact Coach Meredith Bolon at 619-4565 or call Randy Young at 967-0960.

Tentatively on tap for the fall would be preparation for cross-country races like the Pumpkin Run 4K, a camping/training trip to the North Carolina mountains, the annual Greensboro Invitational Meet, and the State and Regional USATF Cross-Country Championship meets in November. Other favorite activities will include such annual rites as scavenger hunts and relays with the UNC Cross-Country Club and Fleet Feet's Starting Line participants.

Unlike the spring track and field meets, the upcoming autumn's Junior Olympics cross-country competitions will include no throwing or jumping, unless it's the leap of so many Chapel Hill/Carrboro Pacers to their perennial place on the medal stands.

In the meantime, local USATF Junior Olympics Championship qualifiers like Harrison Young, Grace Morken, and Eliza Dekker will prepare for competition on a nearby national stage, hoping that, with a bit of heart, brains, and courage, that other Belk Track in Greensboro will prove that there truly is no place like (close to) home.