Run

All the kids in New Zealand, years 4-8, participate in finding out who the best cross country runners are. It starts with a run at each school. 

Wren's encouraging hand before race day.

At the starting line...Wren in black

Wren finishes 3rd

Quinn and Leah with a photo finish, Quinn finishes 2nd

Wren's two friends Ruby and Summer are always neck and neck for 1st and 2nd

Quinn watching the finishers from other grades. Watching all these kids run their hardest always brings tears to my eyes.

Some of Quinn's friends, Quincy and Mara also made it in!

The little ones asked some of the big year 6s to run with them. Wren running with the year 0s and 1s.

The first 6 finishers in each class, of each gender, go next to the Southern Zone race a few weeks later. The course was held at Houghton Bay School, with a fence you had to hop over, and an uphill trail through the woods.

Quinn and her friends watching the racers.

Quinn coming in for a finish

Quinn ran a good race and then got to have lunch and play cards until the rest of the school finished.

Wren always seems to qualify with her 4 best friends.

Wren ran well and qualified for the next step, the Wellington-wide race, Interzone.

At Interzones a few weeks later the girls went to a northern suburb and faced a mud bath.

The girls' age grade was the second to last race and here they are called up for the start.

And they're off! Wren ran past a few shoes stuck in the mud from previous racers.

It was a very hard race, against the fastest runners in Wellington, and Wren was exhausted afterwards. Especially since she'd forgotten to eat lunch beforehand...

A good race always ends with ice cream!