Student Blog

On Saturday, November 6^th, was finally the Provincials Race.

We had to get up early in the morning and after having breakfast, we checked our spike shoes one last time and got our Race Number with a Tracking Chip to pin on our Race Singlet. My number was 545.

We left the hotel and rode to the race course. Unfortunately it was pouring rain at that time. But the senior’s race was later, so we waited on the bus, until it stopped raining. I was glad that my race wasn’t the first, so I had a chance to watch two races before mine.

A lot people came to watch and for each start, 200 to 300 runners started, which was a very crowded start!

Before each race, we did our very loud cheer, which was a great feeling.

In the first two races, we cheered our teammates on. After some time, we saw, that the course became super muddy. All the runners were sinking in the mud and were very dirty.

Even though I didn’t feel like running that morning, I was really looking forward to running in the mud. It looked like a lot fun and I couldn’t wait until my race would start.

Half an hour before our race started, we did our warm up. After our warm up everything happened at once. We rushed to the starting line, gave our coach our jackets, did our cheer again and then the race already started.

There were so many girls! From all the people in front of me, dirt flew from their shoes all over me. I had dirt even in my face after the first minute.

The race was a lot fun to run. Everywhere beside the course were people standing and cheering us on. Some also played music. Because there were so many girls in front and behind me, I tried as much as I could to pass some people and tried to run fast enough that not a lot girls would pass me. After I passed my coach the first time, he shouted the number to be, in which place I was in that moment. My number was 203. Then my goal was to be in the Top 200 by the end of the race.

At some parts of the race, I was stuck ankle-deep in the mud.

After a second lap and 5.3 kilometers, which really didn’t feel that far, I came close to the finish line and started sprinting. Unfortunately, another girl passed me on the last meter before the line, but I placed 197^th   out of 233, which I’m really happy with. After all of us four senior girls finished the race (we placed 20^th out of 27 girls teams), we took a picture and then we ran into the ocean to wash the mud off. It was very cold (6 degrees outside) but it was definitely worth it and one of my favorite memories from that trip.

The race was a great once-in-a-lifetime experience and a lot fun.

After going into the cold ocean, we rode by bus to Abbotsford, where we went to a pool. After that we could dress warm again we went back on the bus and rode towards home. Over night, we stayed in Clinton, where I had a nice last evening with my teammates. We were all very sad that the trip would be over the next day. On Sunday, we rode back home.

That trip is one of my favorite memories in Canada. I had a great time with my team. The race itself didn’t even play such a big role at some point and it was more to enjoy the time and to have fun with my friends.

Photo and blog post submitted by Lilly M., a grade 11 student from Germany, who is currently studying at Nechako Valley Secondary School.