Three hours of running on the beach in Yasawa paid off today for Ulamila Vata.

The Yasawa High School student impressed the crowd in the Open Girls 3000 metres at the Lautoka Zone in Churchill Park this morning.

Vata ran a time of 12 minutes and 34.79 seconds, her fellow school mate Vesi Ranadi came second with a time of 12 minutes and 57.42 seconds.

Vata who trains three times a day with her teammates runs from the school to her village in Kese, Naviti in Yasawa which takes about three hours.

The 15-year-old says the journey has not been easy especially since they have no proper training ground.

Despite all odds, Vata came out firing, sprinting in the last 200 metres of the race.

Yasawa High School now has three gold medals in the bag.