Cross Country by Starford

“Are you ready for Cross Country?” My friend Samuela asked me, “Ohhh no!!” I said with anxiousness. Today was the day of our school’s Cross Country. I was really nervous. I haven’t  been running lately and I thought I was gonna be unfit.

Getting ready, everyone starting dressing up in their house colours. I’m in Mataatua which is the green house. There are four house colours, Takitimu(Yellow), Te Arawa(Red), Tainui(Blue) and Mataatua(green) My group and I from Mataatua came together and had to create a chant. It took a while to finish but we managed to pull it off.  

It was time, the whole school gathered together in their house colours. Everyone was excited and so was I. Mrs Va'afusuaga (School sports co-ordinator) said it was time for the house colour chants, and we were first…

“MATAATUA  ARE YOU READY READY?...YES WE ARE READY!... MATAATUA ARE YOU REALLY READY?... YES WE ARE REALLY READY! MATAATUA WHAT, MATAATUA WHO?  MATAATUA YOU KNOW CHICK CHICK BOOM!!”

We tried to help motivate our runners to try hard and do their best, and hopefully they did.

In 1 hour, it was time for the yr 8’s to run. Everyone was really excited and some were really anxious. Our Principal Mr Burt said the call “On your marks...get set...GO!!” And we were off like lightning. I paced myself so I didn’t puff out while running. After a while I finally reached the finish line and I came 10th.

Cross Country by Tui

Bright skies and muddy fields all around me. Sweaty skin and B.O is what I could smell. Little kids and big kids cheering for their team: Te Arawa, Tainui, Takitimu and Mataatua. Four different teams with different house colours. Te arawa was red, Tainui was blue, Takitimu is yellow and Mataatua was green.

Different age groups went one after another, I’m already starting to have the butterflies.Nervous with shivers down my spine I was scared that I could barely walk to the start. Two feet behind the start and I was already settled. “Ready, set and GO!” all of us girls sprinted for our lives. Making our way past the first corner I was in the lead. One girl and another making her way past me “oh my gosh when will these girls stop” I yelled. 

Huffing and puffing I was making my way to Mr.Sommerville. “Come on Tui you can make it” he cheered on. Making my way across a puddle I was sweating hot so I decided to have one little dive. So glad and so cold I was running out of the puddle. At the end of the reserve I saw a person standing there waving his hand in the air. It was Mr Barks. Pointing his hand to the left showing my way back to school. Running in zig-zags I was puffed out. Walking to the gates I felt like dropping dead.

Under the goalpost doing one more lap. As I look back upon my shoulder I saw a few of my friends in a group. Still continuing my run I decided to make it all the way for my last year. My legs were in pain but I didn’t really care I just wanted to get this over with. Running by some boys Crusader and Ahsin. “Go boys you can do it to the end” I supported them. Half way across the fields I was nearly finish. Sprinting and sprinting running to the finish line and I'm finished. On the ground puffed to death. I am never doing that run again.

Waiting for everybody to leave it was just all of us house captains. There was still water left so we decided to have a water fight. Laughing with madness we all got wet then we all said our good byes to our teachers. Walking home with my friends was exciting as we all shared our thought’s on the cross-country.