My first cross-country competition

This week, a group of Ffynone students from Years 7-10 attended a local cross-country event.  The Afan Nedd Tawe Secondary Schools development race was held at Pontarddulais Secondary School.  Over twenty-five schools and colleges were represented at the event and our runners enjoyed the competitive atmosphere.  Despite only being at Ffynone for three weeks, Year 7 student Reuben (main picture) writes about the race for us:

“I was nervous because it was the day of the race.  When we arrived, I was even more nervous!  I was not sure how long the race was, or if it was slippery, or if there were hills.  However, the weather was good and the sun was shining so I decided to concentrate on that.  There were lots of other runners, maybe about eighty.  I was the only boy running from Year 7 at Ffynone; a bit more pressure to do well.

A whistle sounded which told us to all get ready at the line.  I saw a few faces I recognised like a boy from my old school and someone who used to be in my football team.  There was a little bit of talking amongst the boys, but I remained focused.

The countdown, 3-2-1 GO! I had a fast start, I sprinted in front of everyone like it was a 100m race rather than a 2000 metre cross-country!

I was in the lead!  Well, for at least a minute!  We had to do two laps of the course, and I suddenly realised how long each lap was.  I began to get tired and because I had gone off too fast, I needed to walk a little bit.  The first lap seemed slow and tiring.  Then I saw my mum and the other Ffynone support, they all cheered me on.  I started to gain more confidence and I picked up the pace.  I started to pass other runners including the boy in my old school.  The running still felt tough but I now had the confidence to try and get a good finish.  It was tiring and my back began to hurt.  I was still determined to do well.

I ran around the rugby posts and saw the glorious finish line.  I found myself sprinting towards it as if it was the happiest day of my life.  Across the line, I finished in 36^th place.  Not bad, but I’ve definitely been inspired to do some more practice as it was a pretty hard race.”

Our thanks to Reuben for such an enthusiastic and vivid account of the experience.  We can’t wait to see how you get on in the next race!