Cross-country run

Yesterday was the cross-country run of Hwa Chong.I was happy that day because we did not need to study and do not need to attend any afternoon classes or track and field trainings.It was a leisure day.

Early in the morning, every one were in their PE attire except for those in the Junior College.At seven twenty, as usual,we proceeded to the terraces which at the middle of the terraces pitched three tents in red and white strips to shelter us from the scorching sunlight.Then, the Singaporean flag and our school flag were raised as the national anthem of Singapore were sang and the pledge taken subsequently.

In conjuction with the Youth Olympics that was just around the corner, a torch-lighting ceremony followed the torch relay where one of the runners held a litted torch aloft and passed on to the next person as they reached the next group and continued jogging along to the next group till the fifth and final group that was waiting at the section of the track near the Junior College and then all five groups jog to where the torch was lit and bestowed to our principal,Dr Hon to light a thing resembling a bowl placed high above the stage.That's when the cross-country race had begun.
However, we had to space ourselves up at the terraces to do some warm-up which was crucial before any sports.

Then, the Sec1s competitive runners were called upon to get ready on the tracks while those participating the mass run had to wait until the competitive runners were nicely ordered and in ready position.First, the horn blew and the competitive runners started sprinting.After a while , it was the mass run's turn.I was in the middle of the crowd of runners ready to lead them all and perhaps some competitive runners which were quite far ahead us.So , the same horn was heard and I immediately started moving my legs.Still running on the track,I overtook quite the others and lastly the three runners leading the mass run, one of them whom I did not know and the other two who were Wei Sean and Khai Khoon.I ran as fast as I could to catch up with the competitive runners at the guard house at the gate between the College Section and the High school section where I saw Miss Yeo , my IH teacher, in white clothes standing with one or two guards as I turned around and ran uphill towards out school clocktower and downhill till I reached the security guard house at the other side of the field and turned left into the road and faced another uphill into the Boarding School.We only needed to run 3 km ,unlike the other levels, so we revolved around the roundabout at the front of the Boarding school office and ran back to the security guard house where this time we turned towards the gates and turned right as we exited the gate into the pavement surrounding our school.Then,we turned back into the school and ran on the track again.Finally, I reached the finishing line, exhausted and hoping to lay or sit or squat on the track but could not due to my mind reminding me that we must walked about to decrease our heartbeats gradually otherwise if we sat or squatted or any other movements involving the bending of any one of our limbs our blood might get clogged.I really needed a drink to quench my thirst as I did not drink a single drop of water though bottles of water were offered to us amid the race.After a while when my intense heart pulse and breathings resided, I walked back to the terraces.

After that, the Sec 2,3 and 4 ran .I sat down with my classmates and watched how they ran and once I went to have a nice cold Milo drink next to the clock tower under the hot sun.I enjoyed the nice music that the High School Council played.It was really relaxing. Eventually the prize -giving ceremony came.I won the fifth while my class won the second.

Then, Wei Lin started sobbing and I knew why. Seven runners who should actually be the winners of the race ended up running a kilometre extra that was meant for all runners except us Sec 1.I feel sorry for Wei Lin for he should be one of the seven true winners of the race. But after while I felt that this actually provided an advantage for the seven runners because this gave them experience for next year which will be the distance we were all going to race in.Moreover, it was only the first year, there are still three years for glory instead of the triump just for this year.I am confident that Wei Lin has potential in winning in the race next year .Thus, he must be resilient and he did.That's a good thing.

Anyway, there were bitterness and sweetness in the competition.But whether we won something or not, most importantly, we learnt to be determined.It was another good experience in Hwa Chong.