Today, I took part in my first ever London Youth Games at Parliament Hill. It was supposed to be a 1.5km race, but it turned out to be 1.93km. This made the race a bit tougher than I expected, especially since I didn’t know the course very well. I had been told by a friend beforehand that the start was going to be a really tough hill, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Still, I was excited to take part and give it my best shot, even though I was a bit nervous.

Just before the race started, something unexpected happened. Two boys from another borough pushed me back in the crowd. This meant I had a terrible start, and I found myself starting way behind the pack. I knew I had to catch up quickly, so I had to sprint to make up for the lost time. It was hard, and I could feel my legs burning, but I didn’t want to give up. I kept running as fast as I could, trying to get back into the race.

On 9th November 2024, I took part in a race in the Metropolitan League at Horsenden Hill. The race was supposed to be 2 km, but when I checked my watch at the end, it showed only 1.72 km. Even though it was a bit shorter than expected, I knew the course would be challenging, and I was prepared for a tough run. Horsenden Hill is known for its steep hills and tricky paths, so I knew I had to stay focused to do my best.

When the starting gun went off, we all sprinted forward, but didn’t get the best start. I struggled a bit at the beginning, which meant I fell back in the group. Determined to catch up, I pushed myself and managed to move up to fourth place by the end of the first lap. I could feel the pressure of the race as we ran over the hills and winding paths, but I stayed focused, determined to keep my position.

Today, I ran a race called the Mini Mo Run in Richmond. The course was supposed to be 1.5 kilometres, but my watch recorded it as 1.4 kilometres instead. As I ran, I faced a few challenges. One of the biggest was a boy in front of me who kept blocking me whenever I tried to overtake him. Each time I found an opening, he would move over to block my path again. It was really frustrating because it slowed me down and threw off my rhythm. I wanted to run my best race, but it felt like he was holding me back on purpose.

The pace setter also made things tricky. He was on a bike and was going so slowly that I actually caught up to him and even managed to overtake him at one point. I like to start my races fast and get a lead early on, but it’s hard to do that when the pace setter isn’t moving quickly enough. To make it even harder, the track wasn’t clearly marked, so I didn’t always know where to go. Without proper labels or signs, I had to keep an eye on the pace setter to make sure I was heading the right way, which was distracting and annoying.

Today I ran a Junior Parkrun at Pitshanger Park in Ealing. The course is supposed to be 2 kilometres, but on my watch, it showed a distance of 1.93 kilometres. My goal for today was to beat my personal best, which is 7 minutes and 13 seconds. I was running really hard, pushing myself to get a new record. But as I was running, a lady who was walking on the track got in my way. I accidentally bumped into her, which slowed me down a bit and made it harder to keep my pace.

In the end, I finished in 2nd place. The boy who came first had a personal best that was just one second slower than mine, so he was really fast too. My final time was 7 minutes and 20 seconds, which both my dad and I thought was a good result, especially since it was my first time back running after a month off. Even though I didn’t beat my personal best, I was happy with my time.