The zone carnival was held at a beautiful, and purpose built
cross country running track called
Stromlo Forest Park….There is
quite an interesting history to this running track. It was designed by the
Australian Marathon Champion, Robert De Castella (‘Deek’), After the
Canberra bushfires in
2003 ( the year flash was born). The fire
destroyed over 500 homes and took four lives. Deek’s house was one of
those destroyed in the fire.
Previously, Stromlo forest
park was covered in majestic pine trees and reminded
me of a scene from a Canadian tourism brochure. It was a glorious location for
walking, running and mountain biking. After the fires, a group of us mountain
bike riders tried to ride on our old trail. I will never forget what I saw….the
devastation was absolutely mind-blowing…it was a grey luna-liker landscape as
the forest had been razed to the ground by the horrific fire-storm.
Flash’s race was first. She and her two team mates lined up
nervously at the start with the other girls and were off and running. Flash hit
the bottom of the hill loop in about 3rd place as the pack ran out
of sight.
….As a mum, these events are hard to watch…my heart is in my
throat and my hands shake so that it’s difficult for my poor little camera to
focus…..
Straining my neck, I managed to catch a few glimpses of that
tell tale red pony-tail in the lead around the back of the course. Flash came
into the finishing straight in the lead and even managed to find her way (she
actually started running in the wrong direction) to the finishing line in first
place! Flash’s teammate was in 3rd place too!! Flash had won her zone!
After a nervous wait, it was muscles turn…Muscles displayed
a brave smile as her teacher led my baby girl to the start line of her first
zone cross-country. The younger age groups treat the cross country like an
extended sprint event and the pack took off like a rocket….
my little one reached the bend in first place as they ran
out of site. I was wondering if she would last the distance!
Muscles reached the final turn in the lead and we could see
by the look on her face that she was giving it everything she had! Muscles
reached the finishing line in first place!
With wobbly legs and a red face she
fell into my arms as she tried desperately to get her breath back…This was another
moment I’ll never forget as we stood still together, mother supporting her
daughter, amidst the moving crown of spectators.
I carried my little girl back to our school tent and you
should have seen the look on her face….the look she gave us when we told her
that her prize for winning, was to do the race AGAIN next month for the ACT
School Championships…I thought she might have been about to cry….
…but now, she and Flash are counting down the days until the
ACT cross country carnival next month…
One of the aims I have for this SportyMummy blog is to create a
community of parents interested in sport and a healthy lifestyle for their children.
If your kids have participated in a sport or a fun energetic activity this week, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. You can also comment on the SportyMummy
Facebook page. If you have written a blog post about a sport or activity your children have participated in this week, you can add it to the linky tool at the end of this post. It is my hope to create a supportive community that will also motivate others to get involved with an active lifestyle.
