Today, I ran in the North West London League cross-country fixture in Greenford. I had raced on this course before, so I knew what to expect. It was a grass course and was supposed to be 2km long. I remembered from last year that it was incredibly muddy, which made it tough to run. Because of this, I wasn’t feeling too excited about the race, but I was ready to give it my best effort.
At the start, the first 100 to 200 metres were exactly as I expected—very muddy. My spikes sank into the ground, and it was difficult to get a good grip. But I stayed focused, kept pushing forward, and managed to get off to a fairly good start. I settled somewhere in the middle of the pack, trying to keep a steady pace. However, at one point, another runner accidentally pushed me, and I lost a few places. It was frustrating, but I quickly picked myself up, shook it off, and got back to racing.
After that, I focused on making up for lost time. I started pushing harder, trying to overtake the runners I had been ahead of earlier. The course remained difficult, with muddy patches and even a bridge that we had to run over while wearing spikes. It wasn’t easy, but I kept going. I knew that every position mattered, and I wanted to finish as strong as possible.
In the end, I finished 11th place for the girls, which made me incredibly proud. Even more exciting was that I was the second-fastest runner from my club! This felt like a great achievement, especially since the girl who finished first from my club is in Year 6, and I’m only in Year 4. Competing against older runners is always a challenge, but I was happy to hold my own.
The race was supposed to be 2km, but when I checked my watch, it was actually 1.83km. I managed to complete it in 7 minutes and 56 seconds. My pace was a bit slower than usual, but given the muddy conditions and the fact that we had to run over a bridge in spikes, I think I did well. It was a tough course, and I gave it my all.
Overall, I’m really happy with my performance, especially since this was an Under-11s race, meaning I was racing against mostly Year 5s and Year 6s. I was probably one of the youngest runners there, and I still finished in a great position. Next year, I hope to do even better! My goal is to get near the top of the field—or maybe even try to win the race! I know I have to keep training hard, but I believe I can do it!
