Cross Country

On Wednesday the 18th, We had our whole school cross country at the loburn Domain.

Everyone had been preparing and training for cross country for a few weeks, and it was good to see lots of determined faces arriving at school, ready to give it their all.

The event was starting halfway through the day, but I was picked by my teacher to go down to the Domain early to help set up along with another couple of girls, which turned out good because by the time the rest of the school showed up, I had a good understanding of the course and I was fully hydrated and rearing to go.

The races started with the younger kids doing a small 400m track, and then the tracks gradually got bigger, with the year eights running 3km.

One of the best things about the day was watching the other students run their race, and to see their faces as they approached the finishing line with everyone cheering them on really made you feel happy.

It was a great day for a run, the weather was looking great, and after a while the sun came out as well. Before long, the year eight girls were lining up to start their race.

All ten of us milled around the starting line in a nervous little bunch waiting for a glimpse of the year sixes so we could start. Then we got into our positions and waited.

On your marks, get set…  GO! We were off, zooming around the domain, flying up the hill and skipping through the forest at 50 miles per hour. Well, that’s what the people up the front were doing. I, however just got into a nice steady pace and tried to slow down my breathing.

For the rest of the race, I tried to just focus on what I was doing and get through it. I was aware I was coming 6th, but a girl called Jess was just in front of me, and I could tell she was slowing down, so I speed up a little and managed to overtake her, which felt like a good accomplishment.

My favourite part would of had to be the forest. It felt good to have a bit of shade, and it was nice to just relax and run.

After about 10 minutes I became vaguely aware that I was approaching the finishing line. I gathered my strength and upped my pace a bit more until I was about 10 metres away, then I sprinted as fast as I could, which was pretty good considering my lungs were about to burst and I probably resembled a water fountain.

Afterwards I allowed myself to sit, drink and cheer on the rest of the girls in my race. At the end of the day, I’m very proud of my efforts and I really enjoyed my last cross country.