Today I ran in the Moor Park 10K and Junior Fun Run at Merchant Taylors’ School in Northwood. The junior run takes place on their big football pitches, and it’s such a fun event. I ran it last year in the under 10 girls race and came first with a time of 5 minutes and 30 seconds, so this year I really wanted to win again and beat my time by a lot.
It was a bit of a crazy day because my brother had a table tennis tournament at the same time. My dad had to leave his match to take me to the run, so we only had a few minutes to warm up before the race started. I was a bit rushed, but I tried to stay calm and get focused.
When it was time to line up, I felt excited but also a little nervous. I was racing in the under 10 girls category again, which is for Years 3, 4, and 5. Since I’m in Year 5, I knew I had a really good chance to do well. When the starter said “Go!”, I shot off as fast as I could and managed to get into the lead after about 20 metres. I could see the cyclist in front who was setting the pace, and I decided to try and keep up with them for the whole race.
The race was supposed to be 1.3 km long, but like last year it ended up being about 1.38 km. I didn’t mind though, because I was feeling strong and running really well. I pushed myself as hard as I could and built up a big lead over the other runners. I could hear people cheering, and that made me want to go even faster.
When I got near the finish line, I started sprinting as fast as I possibly could. I crossed the line with a time of 5 minutes and 15 seconds — fifteen seconds faster than last year! I was so happy and proud of myself. I had beaten the next girl by more than 45 seconds, and my pace was 3 minutes and 47 seconds per kilometre, which I think is really fast.
Even though it had been raining and the ground was a bit slippery, I still managed to run my best. I won another trophy, which made me smile so much, but the best part was how I ran — I stayed strong, kept pushing, and reached my goal. This race is becoming one of my favourites, and I can’t wait to go back next year. I’ll be in the Year 6 and 7 race then, which is two laps and about 2.6 km long. I’m already excited for the challenge of racing older girls and seeing how much faster I can get.
