The feeling, of coming last was getting on my nerves. What if I don't make it?
What if I tripped, sprained my ankle and had to sit the whole competition out?
As my dad and I drove to
Bailey Road School, we stopped by the dairy to grab myself a few drinks for
hydrating.
As we were getting closer and closer to the death trap, I mean Cross Country,
I could feel my legs shaking.
I didn't know if I was cold or nervous. We arrived at the school, as my butterflies
got even
BIGGER.
As my dad and I were heading to the 2nd main gate,
I met up with a few reps from our school.
Xavier, Soane and Oliver were standing underneath a tree probably waiting
for the whole team to arrive.
"It's the other way"my dad says as he has been their when my
brother had ran last year.
So we walked the other way, and in we went through the gates as my dad showed
me the track.
My nerves dropped when I saw how big the track was. I have ran a track like this,
except there weren't
any steep hills.
Walking back to out of the gate where I found my whole team standing by the post.
"Punipuao's here!" a teammate calls.
As I see another school stop by, my stomach sinks as we approach the crowd.
As we walked inside the hall, we were madly searching for our sign, but apparently
it was invisible.
We finally found our sign and gently threw our bags by the wall.
Before we had to run, we walked the course so that we couldn't get lost. Oh
my goodness, was
the track so
BIG. Soon, it was time for the younger kids to run. "In your marks, get set, GO!"
shouted Eric.
The little boys
and girls shot past as they ran wildly through the course.
Nervously, the crowd waited for them to return to the finish. Soon, a Stanhope kid
came 1st place.
Years later, or minutes later, it was show time.
Getting advice from my dad really gave hope that I wouldn't come last.
As Eric said “go”, I shot past a few girls coming 2nd place.
I kept running, as I reached a point where my body felt heavy. Feeling dizzy,
didn't stop me.
I took a rest for a minute by the tree, where I saw my little cousin, Solomon,
standing there
cheering on for me.
Sooner or later, I stood, putting my hands behind my head. I ran past a few girls
on the way.
The next lap I zoomed past, where I nearly reached a checkpoint,
I crouched to the ground, feeling the grass, saying a little prayer before I launched back
onto my feet.
Reaching the end,
I zoomed past a group of girls and one of my teammates Xavier where I crossed the line.
How relieved I was to make it. I hugged my dad, as he could feel the pain on my legs. Walking
back to my team,
I felt hungry, so hungry I nearly ate my whole lunch. By the end of the day, I was fully puffed.
I would also like to thank Mrs Vaivelata and the other parents for helping us with transport.
Punipuao
