Annual Cross Country 2010

On 3 Sep, school did not function according to usual curriculum. This is because it was the day of the annual cross country. So instead of assembling at the netball court, we gathered at Bedok Reservoir for the event. Students and teachers were dressed in comfortable running outfits and shoes.

The event started off with the staff race. After that, it was time for the lower secondary to run. As it was during the fasting month, I was unsure wheter I should run or not. I was worried if I would get too tired and thirsty and end up breaking my fast. So at the starting point, I decided to brisk-walk the distance with my friends. When the starting whistle sounded, the students started running. In the frenzy of people, I started running too, much to my surprise.

I did not realize that I was actually jogging. I started out slow but suddenly became competitive and started running. Afterall, my friends were rather far behind me and it would be weird to walk alone while the others are jogging around me. Even so, I did not want to tire myself out so I finally decided to ‘half run, half jog’ meaning that I would only run a distance and jog the rest.

At the 2km mark, I was already panting and almost out of breath so I stopped running and jogged instead. The others who were near me would sometimes suddenly speed up and run ahead, but would stop in front, only to have me speed up and overtake them instead. It was rather comical actually.

Well, I continued running and jogging and although I was already very thirsty, I did not stop. My mindset at that time was just to finish the distance as soon as possible and take a rest after that. So finally, I reached the finishing line at the 21st position. I was very surprised actually, because I thought I would end up 50th or later. During last year’s run, I got the 62nd position, so I felt rather proud of my big improvement.

The event ended with the prize presentation ceremony for the top 15 boys and 15 girls for each level. Although I did not win the prize, I still felt glad that I completed the race even though I was fasting. I even felt happier because I put up with my thirst all the way until the time to break fast.

For both the cross country events that I have attended, I was burdened by the thought that I would not be able to put up with my thirst after running. The fact that the events were held during the fasting month was rather unfair to the Muslim students as many of us wanted to run, but were worried to. Nevertheless, I could still feel proud of myself for the big jump in positions when I was in secondary 1 to secondary 2.