Today I took part in the Stan Allen Mile, which is a one-mile race on the athletics track in Tooting. I was really excited before the race because I had never run a full mile on the track before. The longest track race I had done up until now was 1500 metres, so this felt like a new challenge. I had set myself a target time of five minutes and twenty-five seconds. Before the race, I worked out how fast I would need to run each lap, and I planned to check the clock each time I came round to make sure I was keeping to my pace.

When the race started, things didn’t feel quite right. I didn’t feel as strong as I normally do, and very quickly I found myself slipping to the back of the group. This was unusual for me because I normally stay near the front. I kept pushing on though, and when I reached the first lap marker, which was just over 400 metres, I was already two or three seconds behind my target pace. It wasn’t the start I had hoped for.

Today I ran at the Charnwood AC open race at Loughborough University. I have raced at this track a few times before, and I always enjoy coming back. It is a first-class track and feels very modern and professional. Around the track, there are timers placed at every corner, which makes it easy to check your pace as you run. Because of this, I always feel confident here and believe that I can run well. It is also one of my favourite tracks because it gives me the chance to go for a personal best each time.

In this race, I was running the 1500 metres and was placed in the second heat. My personal best before the race was five minutes and seven seconds, and my aim was to beat that time. Normally, I push myself very hard at the start of a race, but then I lose energy too quickly. This time, I decided to try a different plan. I told myself I would begin at a steady pace, save my energy, and then push harder towards the later stages of the race.

Today, I ran in a race on an athletics track, not a school one. There were lots of other runners there, and everyone looked ready and focused. I felt a mix of nerves and excitement as we all lined up at the starting line. I wanted to do my best and run as fast as I could.

When the race began, I set off quickly and tried to stay close to the front. The athletics track was smooth and flat, which helped me run well. Some runners were very fast, but I didn’t let that worry me. I just kept going and focused on my own pace.

Today, I took part in the junior Parkrun at Pitshanger Park. I hadn’t run there for a few weeks because I’ve been focusing on athletics events instead. This weekend, though, there were no athletics races on, so I thought it would be a good chance to return to Parkrun and give the 2K run a go. My personal best at this course is 6 minutes and 58 seconds, and my target today was to finish somewhere around 7 minutes.

I started the run quite fast and quickly made my way to the front. At the top of the straight, I managed to take the lead. I felt strong and tried to keep up my speed as much as I could. When I reached the end of the first lap, I checked the time and saw that I had run it in 3 minutes and 30 seconds. That was actually about 10 seconds faster than I had planned, so I knew I was on for a good time if I could just keep going.