Today I ran in the Moulton Summer Open in the 800-metre race for the under 13 age group. This was only my second 800m race of the season, so I was feeling both excited and a bit nervous. My last 800m race didn’t get recorded on Power of 10, which made me quite disappointed. I really wanted this race to count, and I also wanted to beat my personal best from last year.
The day before the race, the weather had been very hot—up to 34 degrees! I was hoping it would be much cooler today. After school, we left home and drove to Moulton. We arrived just before 7pm. As soon as we got there, I started my warm-up. I jogged a bit, did some stretches, and made sure I was ready. I was placed in the second heat, which had some of the faster runners. My goal was to get a season’s best time and beat my 2:35 from a few weeks ago.
When the race began, I ran as hard as I could from the start. It was tough because many of the runners were older than me, even though we were all under 13. I wanted to try and keep up, but it was difficult to get ahead. I managed to finish the first lap in about 1 minute and 15 seconds. That gave me a good start, and I knew I had to keep pushing in the second lap.
During the second lap, I gave it everything. I focused on running strong and tried to catch the runners ahead of me. I didn’t give up, even when I felt tired. I kept moving my arms and legs as fast as I could. When I crossed the finish line, I was so happy to hear that my time was 2 minutes and 33 seconds. That was a brand-new personal best for me in the 800 metres!
Because I’m only 10 years old, I usually race in under 11s events, which are normally 600 metres. That means I don’t often get the chance to run 800m races. So, setting a new personal best today felt really special. I was proud of my time, but I also know I can do even better. I want to keep training and improving.
My target for this season is to run 800 metres in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. I’m getting closer, and now I want to do one or two more 800m races before the track season ends. Hopefully, with a bit more practice and good weather, I can beat that goal. I’ll keep trying my best and working hard. Today was a good step forward, and I’m excited to see how much faster I can get!
