Today was a big day for me. I ran at Pitshanger Junior Parkrun on 30th March 2025. I had one clear goal in mind – to run the course in under seven minutes. I knew it would be hard, but I really wanted to push myself and give it everything I had. What made me feel a bit more confident was that I had new running trainers. They felt light and fast, and I was excited to see how much they could help me.
When the run started, I was in 3rd place right away. The first few minutes were tough, but I tried to stay focused and not go too fast too early. Halfway through the first lap, I managed to move up to 2nd place. I could see the boy in front of me, and I guessed he was about five seconds ahead. I kept chasing, step by step, trying not to let the gap grow.
Just after finishing the first lap, something clicked. I felt strong and picked up my pace a little more. That’s when I managed to take the lead. I was now in 1st place! The boy behind me tried to keep up, but he got tired pretty quickly. I could hear his footsteps fading, and that made me push even harder to stay in front.
As I ran the final stretch, I knew I was close to my goal. I crossed the finish line and looked down at my watch. I had done it! My final time was 6 minutes and 58 seconds. My pace was 3 minutes and 33 seconds per kilometre, which is the fastest I’ve ever run in a Parkrun. I felt over the moon and couldn’t stop smiling.
The course is meant to be 2 kilometres, but today it was slightly shorter at 1.96 km. Still, I was proud of what I had achieved. I also got an age grading of 85.91%, which is one of my best scores so far. It shows how well I ran compared to others my age, and that made me even happier.
It was one of my best runs ever, and I’ll always remember it. Beating this time will be really hard, but I like a challenge. Next time, I’ll try to go even faster – maybe on a full 2K course! But for now, I’m going to enjoy this moment and be proud of what I’ve done.
