Cross Country

Running on the field and struggling to get through the mud was very exhausting. At cross country, I had a goal and it was to run without stopping. But unfortunately I didn’t succeed. I was getting very tired of walking in the mud. There were teams like Takitimu, Te Arawa, Mataatua and Tainui, but the team that I am in is Tainui.

When we were at the starting line, I had butterflies and I was really nervous. Mr Burt came with his starting blocks and said the magic words to start off the race. “On your marks, get set, GO!!!” Everybody ran as fast as they could but some of us slowed down at the gates.

When I reached the gravel, that's when I saw the 12 year old girls catching up to me. I started to panic. But then I realised that I was sprinting and wasting my energy. I stopped to take a breath, then I kept running. “Oh no! Not again!” I said to myself as they ran past me. I was as dehydrated as a shrivelled plant on a hot sunny day.

When I reached the bush walk, there was a big muddy puddle and I  slipped in it. My friend started laughing so I had a little giggle as well. When we finished having a giggle, we carried on running to reach the finish. As soon as I got up to Taniwha street, I stopped and started to walk very calmly. I walked for a little bit then I started to run towards the bridge.  Mr Barks was standing on the bridge making a video of all the runners running past.

When I saw the finish line, I thought to myself “Hallelujah!!”
I felt really happy crossing the finish line. I felt like an athlete coming first in something because people were screaming out “Go Hueloata, you can do it!! ” But unfortunately, I didn’t come first. I came fifth. But still, I felt really happy and tired from that race.