Today I ran in the North West London League race at Fryent Park in Kingsbury. It was a 2 km cross country race on grass, and the ground was moderately dry because there had been some rain overnight. I got there early so I could jog around the course and get used to the twists, turns, and little hills. The park looked great in the morning light, and I felt a mix of excitement and nerves as more runners started to arrive and warm up.
I’m not the biggest fan of the North West London League races because the boys and girls all start at the exact same time. It can be quite chaotic at the beginning, with lots of pushing and jostling for position. When the race started, I didn’t get the best start, but it wasn’t terrible either. I got caught in the middle of the pack and tried to stay calm while finding my rhythm. At first, I was around sixth place for the girls and maybe about tenth overall in the mixed race. I knew I needed to work my way forward, so I started pushing as hard as I could.
During the race, I didn’t feel as fast as I wanted to be. My legs felt a bit heavy, and I found it hard to keep up with the front group. Still, I didn’t give up — I kept reminding myself to stay focused, use my arms, and keep pushing all the way. The course was tough in parts, especially where the grass was thick, but I tried to keep my pace steady. Even though I wasn’t feeling at my best, I gave everything I had right to the end.
In the final stretch, I pushed as much as I could and managed to finish in fifth place overall for the girls. My time was seven minutes and twenty-four seconds, which by my own standards felt quite average. It was an improvement from my last North West London League race, but I know I can do better. I really wanted to be in the top three, and although I was happy for my teammate who came first, I felt a bit disappointed that she beat me by such a large margin. My age grading was 82.24%, which is still good, but I know I’m capable of more.
When I looked back on my performance, I realised my start was one of my biggest weaknesses. I got trapped behind a group of runners and didn’t make my move early enough to overtake them. I think next time I need to be braver at the start and get into a stronger position straight away. I also want to work on my pacing so I have more energy to sprint in the final part of the race. There were still positives to take away, though — I stayed strong mentally and didn’t give up even when I wasn’t feeling my best.
One thing worth mentioning is that this race was for both Year 5 and Year 6 girls, and I’m still only in Year 5 — actually one of the youngest, since I was born in July. If I’d been born just a month later, I’d still be in Year 4! But I don’t want to use that as an excuse. I want to be good enough to compete with the Year 6 girls and even beat them. I know if I keep training hard and learn from this race, I can definitely get there. I’m already looking forward to the next one and determined to show what I can really do.
