Today I ran in the North West London League cross-country race at Trent Park in Cockfosters. I really like this course because I did well here last year and it’s where my club usually trains. Because I know the area so well, I felt confident and excited before the race started. It felt nice racing somewhere familiar.

Before the race, my dad and I talked about a different strategy to try. The plan was to let the boys in front take the lead and deal with the wind, while I stayed just behind them for the first kilometre. Then, after about 1 km, I would increase my pace and try to overtake them. This was very different from how I usually race, so I wasn’t completely sure about it, but I agreed to give it a go.

Today I ran in the Metropolitan League at Horsenden Hill. The race was meant to be 2 km, and I was running in the boys’ under-11 category. Horsenden Hill has never been one of my favourite courses, so I wasn’t feeling very excited when I arrived. The hills, the tight corners, and the long grass make it quite a tough place to run. Still, I knew I had to give it my best and try to stay focused even if I wasn’t looking forward to the course

When the race started, I settled into around fourth place. I felt okay, but I knew I wanted to be in the lead as quickly as possible. About 300 metres into the first lap, I managed to work my way to the front. Another boy came with me, and the two of us were fighting for the lead all through the first lap. It felt like a proper battle, but I stayed in control and kept my position at the front. I felt strong, and at that moment I thought I had a good chance of winning.

Today I ran in the London Youth Games, which takes place at Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath in London. I wasn’t feeling very excited about this race because there are usually nearly 300 boys competing, all from the 32 boroughs of London. On top of that, the race begins with a very steep hill, which makes the start extremely tough. Even though cross country isn’t my favourite compared to track season, I still wanted to try my absolute best and see what I could do.

When the race started, I didn’t get a very good start. I settled into around 15th place, and I knew that wasn’t where I wanted to be. I tried to speed up, but the problem was the huge amount of traffic. There were so many boys all bunched together that I couldn’t run my normal fast pace. Every time I tried to move to the side to overtake, someone blocked the space. With almost 300 boys running at once, there was pushing, barging, and lots of elbows, which made it even harder to move through the pack.

Today I ran in the North West London League at Kingsbury, in Fryent Park. I was running in the boys’ under 11 race, which was a cross country race about two kilometres long. The course was two laps around the park, and it had a few little hills and lots of twisty paths. The grass was quite firm and dry, which made it fast but a bit harder to grip. I like Fryent Park because it’s open and you can see the runners ahead, but you still need to think carefully about when to speed up or slow down.

Before the race started, I did all my warm-ups properly — a light jog, some drills, and a few short sprints to get my legs ready. I always make sure to focus before the race because I know that the start is really important. There are some tight, narrow parts on the course where only one person can run at a time, so I knew that getting to the front early would make a big difference. My coach and I had talked about getting a quick start, so that was my main goal when the whistle blew.