Cross Country Success for New County Runner

On Saturday 20^th January a select group of students competed in the Berkshire Schools Cross Country Championships held at Newbury Showground.  We had competitors in all the races but one, from the U13 girls running just over 2km to the senior boys who were running 7.7km.  Conditions were cold with the ground very uneven in places from the recent wet and cold weather.

All of the students involved showed great resilience and there were some excellent performances. A massive congratulations go to Diana (Lower Sixth) who finished 15^th in the senior girls’ race, which means she will represent Berkshire in the county event later in the year. Diana commented: “Running 3.9km in very cold conditions during the race was tougher than I expected, but I’m proud to say I pushed through. It was a challenge, but crossing that finish line to find I had performed beyond my expectations showed me I’m capable of more than I thought.”

Exceptional performance were also delivered by Tom (Upper Sixth) who came 19^th in the senior boys’ race and Faris (Year 9) who came 21^st in the junior boys’ race.  “The U19 Berkshire Schools cross country championships was a competition at a very high standard, it pushed me on a personal level to run at a quicker pace and not give up.” reflected Tom.

Director of Sport, Simon Bradbury commented ‘All the students performed fantastically well in what were difficult conditions on a very cold Saturday afternoon.  It was fantastic to see large numbers competing and our students more than held than own against some really top runners.  Congratulations to Diana for getting selected for Berkshire and this is just rewards for all the effort she has put in to train for this event.”