My Cross Country Experience

“YEAH”! The day had finally come. That day was CROSS COUNTRY....... This is the day I’ve been waiting for. The day to put all my practice to good use. I wanted to push myself because I was determined to win!

“Can all 11 year old boys and girls please come to the starting point” Mr Jacobsen said. We all waited anxiously for Mr Burt’s signal. “BANG!” There we were. Fast as lightning from the starting point we all rushed off in a flash. I was at the back of the pack trying to conserve my energy with Lorenzo.

Very quickly, we reached the first kilometer (KM) down by the reserve. The field conditions were mucky and muddy. The mud was knee high on me. Going at 20%, I picked up the pace and went 40%. Even though I was trying to conserve my energy, I was so puffed out. That was only 1km into the race. I didn’t know if I could make it the rest of the way.

“Come on Gabriel” said Mr Somerville. “You can do it.” Pumping my legs I picked up the pace to 60%. “Upwards and onwards” I say to myself. Running on the gravel I think to myself “lucky I wore shoes or my feet would’ve been aching.” Coming up to the bushwalk, I’m proud of myself for making it that far. 

Pushing myself even harder, I came towards the final km near the end. I was currently in 6th place. The boy in front of me was about  20 metres away. I picked up the pace to 80%. Two minutes later, I was neck and neck with him. Finally I passed him because he slowed down. However, I knew I couldn’t beat the person in front of me because he was over 50 metres away. So I just started to go a bit faster at 90%. Fifth was a good position to be in.

Giving it my all at 110%, I sprinted towards the finish line. Mud splashing everywhere, I was so proud of myself. Finally making it to the finish line, I fell to the ground with a THUMP! All covered in mud, I walked towards the drinking fountain to have a massive drink of water. It felt like I had drunk one litre.

At the end of the day, I was so proud of myself for coming 5th. I represented myself, my family and I did really well. This experience will help me get fit for the future when I become a rugby league player.