Today, I ran in my school’s House Cross Country race. Everyone in my year was there, and we were all lined up and ready to go. The weather was cool and cloudy — perfect for running — but I could still feel my heart racing before the start. I really wanted to do well for my house and show how much I’ve improved this year.

Today I ran at Fleetville School, and I was really excited before the race started. I wanted to get a good start because I knew it would make a big difference. When the whistle went, I pushed off as fast as I could and got into my stride quickly.

Today was such an exciting day because I ran in the Abbots Langley Tough 10 race! It’s a really big event in Abbots Langley where lots of people come to run different distances. I took part in the 3 km race which was for Year 5 and Year 6 runners. I knew it was going to be quite hard because my brother ran it last year, and even though it’s meant to be 3 km, his watch said it was actually 3.9 km! There’s also a really steep hill, so I knew I had to be brave and strong.

When the race started, all the Year 5 and 6 boys and girls lined up together for the 3K. The older runners in Years 7 and 8 were doing the 5K race, and we all started at the same time. Both races followed the same path, but the 3K runners turned off earlier while the 5K runners carried on. I told myself I wanted to try and be the first girl to finish, even across both races, so I could maybe get a trophy.

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.