Today I competed in the Watford Harriers Junior Challenge at Cassiobury Park, and I was super excited to take part in two races! My dad had entered me into both the 1.2km Under 8s mixed race and the 2.5km Under 14s mixed race. I was looking forward to running, especially since I’d get to see some of my old running friends from Watford Harriers.
The first race was the 1.2km, which was just one lap of the park. I got off to a strong start and quickly found myself in 6th place, with five boys ahead of me. I kept pushing and managed to overtake one boy, finishing in 5th place overall. My time was 5:16, with a pace of 4:16 per kilometre. I was really happy with the result, especially because I was the first girl to cross the finish line! Knowing that there were trophies for the top three girls, I was already feeling excited.
Straight after that, it was time for the 2.5km race, which was two laps of the same course. I was a little tired from the first race, but I gave it everything I had. I finished 29th overall with a time of 11:25 and a pace of 4:42 per kilometre. Given how much I’d already run, I was pretty proud of that result. In the Under 10s category, I came 2nd, so I knew I’d be getting another trophy, which made me even more excited!
After both races, we had the presentation ceremony, and I was thrilled to receive two trophies. One was for coming first in the Under 8s 1.2km race, and the other was for coming 2nd in the Under 10s category for the 2.5km race. The trophies were beautiful, and I felt so proud to have won them. I’m already looking forward to next year—I’ll be training hard to come back even faster, and I’m aiming to take first place in the Under 10s 2.5km race!
