My name is Lily, and I began running seriously in May 2023. It all started when my brother joined Watford Harriers after doing well in a school race, and I decided to give it a go too. At first, I wasn’t sure if running was for me, and my brother thought I was only doing it to compete with him, but that wasn’t true at all.
I really enjoyed my time at Watford Harriers, mostly because I made a lot of friends. If I’m honest, I was more focused on having fun than on pushing myself to get faster. I wasn’t the quickest, but I liked being part of the club. I also started doing Junior ParkRuns at King George, and I was proud when I finished my first one with a time of 11:53.
Over the next six months, I kept running with the club and doing ParkRuns, but my progress was a bit up and down. Some weeks I improved, and others I didn’t, and I wasn’t getting much faster. Towards the end of the year, my brother was winning regularly at King George, so my dad decided to switch us to another ParkRun at Pinner Village. I still remember my first run there, where I got a huge personal best with a time of 10:25.
Not long after that, I had my school’s House Cross Country race. My dad really wanted me to win, but I ended up finishing 4th. I wasn’t too upset, as I was happy just to be running, but my dad felt I could’ve done better. That’s when he started pushing me harder to fulfil my potential.
Around the same time, we switched to a new running club, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, where I could focus more on middle distance, as I knew I wasn’t a sprinter. The club offered dedicated sessions, and my dad rearranged my schedule so I could train twice a week and get faster.
As I kept running at Pinner Village, I started to get quicker and quicker. I also began doing 5K adult ParkRuns, and I remember my first one at Canons Park, where I finished in 28:48 despite the knee-high puddles! By February, I had improved my 2K Junior ParkRun time to 8:58 and my 5K to 23:53. I was starting to feel more determined to keep improving.
I entered the Watford Harriers Junior Challenge, and it was strange seeing all my old friends from the club. I had come a long way since then, running faster and more seriously. I took part in two races that day: the 1.2km Under 8s race, where I finished 5th overall and 1st girl, and the 2.5km race, where I came 29th but was 2nd in my category. I won two trophies that day, and it felt amazing to see how much I had improved. One of the Watford Harriers organisers even forgot I used to run for them and told me I should join their club – that made me feel really proud.
Since then, I’ve continued to progress. I’ve won several events, including the Welwyn Fun Run, Moor Park Fun Run, and Abbots Tough 10. I even went back to my school’s House Cross Country this year and won! I’ve also been selected to represent my school in cross country, which I’m really proud of since only eight girls were chosen out of 180. In my two Under 11s races, I finished 2nd in the first and 1st in the second.
I’ve come a long way from running just for fun to now running to win. I love the feeling of crossing the finish line first, and it drives me to keep improving. Running has become my favourite sport, and I’m more passionate about it than ever. My goal is to keep getting faster, and I’m excited to see how far I can go!
