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 36th 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!