Today I ran in the Metropolitan League race at Wormwood Scrubs. I don’t remember racing at this venue before, so everything felt new. When we arrived, I was excited but also a bit unsure because I didn’t recognise the place at all. It felt strange standing on a course I’d never seen, but that also made it interesting.
Before the race, I did my usual walk around the course to see what it was like. Most of it was fairly dry, which was good, but there was one section that was very muddy. I knew that part could be tricky and slow everyone down. Because of that, I decided I would need a strong start so I could get into a good position before reaching the mud.
As soon as the race started, I noticed how windy it was. The wind was very strong and seemed to push against me the whole time. I settled into second place early on, but the boy in first was already seven or eight seconds ahead. For a while, it felt like the gap was getting bigger, which made me push harder.
About a quarter of the way into the race, just before the muddy section, I started to close the gap. I managed to get within two or three seconds of the leader. At that point, I felt strong and confident, so I kept pushing as hard as I could. The race was one big lap and measured 1.85 kilometres, so there was no time to slow down.
I chased the boy in first place really hard all the way to the finish. Even though I tried everything, I just couldn’t quite catch him. I finished in a respectable second place with a time of 6 minutes and 38 seconds. That worked out as a pace of 3 minutes and 35 seconds per kilometre, which I was pleased with, and an age rating of 83.83%.
Overall, I feel I ran well and stayed strong throughout the race. Cross country isn’t my favourite type of running, as I much prefer track, but I know it helps make me stronger. I was very close to first place, which gives me confidence. Even though I don’t like running on grass and mud, I’m determined to keep trying my best during the cross-country season so I can be ready for track.
