Today I took part in the Under 11s District Cross Country Race at Gardens Field School. Most of the girls running were in Year 5 or Year 6, but I’m in Year 4, so I really wanted to do well again. Six girls from my school were taking part, and this was the final race in the Under 11s District League. I knew that after the race, there would be trophies for both schools and top individual runners, so I was even more excited.

We all lined up at the start, ready for the race. It was meant to be two and a half laps long, and the full distance was meant to be 1.1 kilometres. I got a decent start and found myself in about eighth place. The beginning of the race had an uphill climb, which was harder than I expected. But I kept going, trying my best to stay strong and focused.

Today I took part in the National Schools Cross Country Race in Coventry. I was racing in the Year 4 girls’ race, and there were around 100 girls running. I felt really excited because it was my first time running in a national race. I had been looking forward to it for a long time and really wanted to do well.

Before the race started, I found a good spot on the start line. But as soon as the race began, a girl behind me pulled me back, which gave me a really bad start. It was very upsetting, but I didn’t let it stop me. I told myself to stay strong and focus on catching up. I knew I had trained hard and wanted to give it my best.

Today, I competed at Pitshanger Junior Parkrun in Ealing, and I was really excited. My goal was to beat my personal best, which was exactly 8 minutes. I had set that time just a couple of weeks ago, and I knew it would be tough to improve on it. But I was determined to start strong, run at a good pace, and overtake as many runners as possible. From the very beginning, I wanted to put myself in a good position and push hard all the way.

At the start of the race, I found myself in ninth place. I focused on running as fast as I could while keeping my energy steady. One by one, I worked on overtaking the runners ahead of me. The weather was perfect for racing – the sun was shining, and it was 11°C, making it a great day to go for a new personal best. I felt confident as I made my way around the course, determined to stick to my plan.

This morning, I ran the 5K Parkrun at Rickmansworth. I was really excited because I missed last week’s run. Instead, I was competing in the North West London League cross-country race at Greenford. That race was tough because the course was muddy and full of hills. Rickmansworth, on the other hand, is an off-road course with smoother paths, which I prefer. I was eager to get back to running here and hoped for a great time.

My goal for today was to beat my personal best of 21 minutes and 8 seconds. I felt ready and determined to push myself. When the run started, I set off, but I quickly realised I was going a little slower than I wanted. There were a lot of runners ahead of me, and I got stuck in some heavy traffic. It was frustrating because I knew I needed a fast start to hit my goal.