I was standing beside the yellow starting line holding the green telecom rope.
The 8 year old girls lined up on the yellow line ready to run to the red and white church and back.The blocks smacked together BANG! They ran like a stampede and they were off!I passed the other side of the telecom-rope to Zoe as the finishing rope,and stood by the Clive School flags under the grey sky and watched them run,still holding the rope.Finally one of the girls had got to the church and turned around and was getting close to the finish line with a pink face 😳 and ran straight through the finishing rope and stopped and walked to Anne's desk for coastal cluster cross country.Then all the other girls caught up and zoomed past the finishing line but I didn't know or can't remember any names but then 8 year old boys lined up on the start.
They crouched on the yellow line and SMACK!
Running in a pack, they were gone!I passed over the other end of the telecom rope thing and watched them bolt to the church and saw one of them turn around to race to the finishing line.Some of the people were climbing the stone wall and peeking over the top.Someone was coming across the bridge and Tama tore through the finishing rope thing and he was followed by Jonte and Max Beard but then almost everyone caught up and got past the line except one person who was jogging and was almost at the bridge.He sped up as he got past the bridge and he passed the finish line and next was 9 yr old girls.
Once again, they all lined up at the start waiting for the bang and then... "SMASH!" They were gone and some of the parents were cheering for them:Run!C'MON! And now they were just specks in the distance but then they came running back very fast and went down the staff driveway and then Zoe grabbed the other end of the rope and then some one sprinted out of the lane beside the bike parking and straight through the rope and then like race cars all the others were there like 2 seconds later and then it was done.
9 year old boys were next and waited for the bang on the line and then BAM! They were gone!I stood and watched them bolt away.Someone came back and went down the driveway and then the rest came in 3 or 4 packs and flooded through the drive way
And the first person shot through the finish line like a plane✈️ and the other packs caught up and finished!
Then was the 10 year old people lined up for 2 laps!They ran like crazy and disappeared!Then the 11 year olds lined up and ran because there wasn't very much and ran after the 10 year olds as the ten year olds came for the second lap. The 11 year olds are gone in a second!The 10 year olds come back and go down the staff driveway and out the bike park and past the finish line!Then the 11 year olds went down the drive way and followed past the finish line!
The end.
