Today I took part in a race at my school called the Habs Dash. The Habs Dash is a 3.5 kilometre run around the school grounds, mostly on the pavement. I was very excited to run because I have recently been promoted to run with the senior school. I am in wave one, which means I start with the fastest group — the Year 13 boys, some teachers, and other really quick runners. I am the only Year 6 boy running in the senior school race, which makes me feel proud and a bit nervous at the same time.
Last week, I ran the same course for the first time and set a school record of 13 minutes and 10 seconds. I really wanted to beat that time today. I felt confident because last week I was still learning the course and didn’t know exactly where the finish line was. This time I knew the route better, so I felt ready to push myself even harder and aim for a new personal best.
When the race started, I got a pretty good start and settled into fourth place. I could see the runners ahead of me and I really wanted to get to first place. About one kilometre into the race, I managed to take the lead. I checked my watch and saw that my first kilometre was three minutes and thirty seconds, which was a really fast pace. I knew I had a good chance of breaking my record if I could keep going strong.
The middle part of the race was tough, but I kept my focus and told myself not to give up. I could hear people cheering and that gave me extra energy to keep going. I pushed myself all the way to the finish line and crossed it with a time of 12 minutes and 34 seconds, which meant I ran at a pace of three minutes and thirty-nine seconds per kilometre. I had done it — I beat my old record by a big margin and finished first overall!
I felt an amazing sense of pride when I realised what I had achieved. Not only had I set a new personal best, but I had also beaten all the older boys and even some of the teachers. I think I am now the third fastest boy in the whole school, which includes boys up to 18 years old. That feels really special, especially since I’m only 10.
Overall, I am very happy with my performance and I had a huge smile on my face after the race. I know it will be hard to beat my time next week because I ran such an incredible race today, but I will still try my best. Even if I don’t get a new personal best, I’m proud of how far I’ve come. Running with the senior school has made me more confident, and I’m excited to keep improving in the future.
