Today I ran in the Abbots Langley Tough 10 race, which takes place in Abbots Langley every year. I was running in the 3 km race, but it’s actually more like 3.9 km because I measured it last year when I did it. The race starts on grass, then goes out onto closed roads around the village, and there’s a really steep hill that makes it extra hard. I ran this same race last year when I was in Year 5, and even though I was one of the younger ones then, I managed to win with a time of 15 minutes and 10 seconds. So this year, I really wanted to win again.

I knew that one of the boys who pushed me really hard last year was running in the 5 km race this time, so I didn’t have to race against him directly. The 3 km and 5 km races start together and follow the same route, but the 3 km runners turn off to the finish while the 5 km runners carry on. My goal was to stay ahead of him for as long as possible and get the best time I could.

Today I ran in my school race called the Habs Dash. It’s a 3.5 km run that goes all around my school, and it’s one of my favourite events of the year. I’ve been doing this run for the last few years, and my best time before today was 13 minutes and 17 seconds, which was actually the Prep School record! This year, I really wanted to beat that time and maybe even get into the 12-minute range if I could.

Because I’m now in Year 6, I usually run with the Prep boys, but this time I got special permission to run with the Senior School. That meant I was racing against boys from Year 7 all the way up to Year 13, and even some teachers! I was put in the first wave, which is the fastest group and includes the teachers, Year 13 boys, and other top runners. I was both nervous and excited because I knew it would be an amazing chance to push myself and try to beat my old record.

Today I took part in a road race called the Letchworth 5K, but I was running in the 1-mile race instead. It was held on closed roads in Letchworth, so there were no cars, which made it safe and exciting to run on. The race had mixed ages, so I knew it would be really tough because there were lots of older runners, including adults and teenagers. I was racing in the men’s under 20 category, which sounds funny because I’m only 10 years old! There were trophies for the top three boys under 20, and even though I knew it would be hard, I wanted to see how close I could get.

When the race started, I sprinted off quickly and actually managed to take the lead for the first few metres! That felt amazing because there were 182 runners altogether, and many of them were really fast. I tried to keep a strong pace and push as hard as I could. The roads were nice and flat, which helped a lot, but the older runners started to catch up as the race went on.

Today I ran at Pitshanger junior parkrun in Ealing. This is a 2 km run in the park, and I hadn’t done it for a few weeks, so I was excited to see what kind of time I could run. My best time before today was six minutes and 58 seconds, and I was determined to beat it. I really wanted to get a new personal best and break that time.

When I was lining up at the start, I noticed there were loads of children there. It looked like almost double the normal number, so I knew it was going to be tricky, especially when overtaking on the second lap. Before I was even ready, they shouted “go!” and I got a poor start. I was about third or fourth at the beginning, but I quickly got into my stride. By the top of the street, I managed to take first place.