I woke up excited. It was the day I was waiting for – cross-country. “Yay,” I said, “I’d better hurry up before I miss my ride. Oh, no, I already have. Oh well, I can still walk.” As I walked out the door I felt the new day wind run through my hair – ahhhhh!

When I got to school, I said, “Hi, Gaby, aren’t you cold?

“No, because I am a heat pump, remember.”

“Oopsy,” I said, “I forgot.”

When we got to class, we raced to get the iPads to play minecraft. A few minutes later, the bell went. Yeah! We hurried down to the other classes. Then we started to walk.

Quarter of an hour later we got to Memorial Park. I was nervous. My teeth were smooshing together like a monster crushing me. When we sat down, we were split into groups, Kowhai and Whereo.

Then we started to play games while the older kids ran their races. 

When we finished the games, the ten year old boys were racing. I bet they would be tired. Go, go, Olly, yay.

When the 10 year old boys all crossed the finish line we were all lined up. “I am strong,” I said in my head. I was already starting to lose breath. Then Mr Stringer got the racing gun out of the bucket. BANG! We were off! I started puffing. When we went into the forest, my feet were stinging and my heart was pounding. When I came out of the forest my legs were dying but I suddenly felt a boost of energy. 

I was nearly at the end and yay yay I had crossed the finish line. I came 10th. Hooray!