On Tuesday, Bruern made the trip to Beachborough for their annual cross country meeting. It was a “stone cold day” according to Upper Sixth runner Jack B, nevertheless Bruern did themselves proud.
Other schools competing consisted of the likes of Ashfold, Swanbourne and The Dragon.
The Juniors were up first. After a sharp warm up to get the boys (and myself!) feeling a bit warmer, the boys braved tacking off their tracksuit tops and headed for the start line. For 4 of the 6 boys running, it was their first ever XC race for Bruern. The Juniors all competed a 2-mile course (3.2km). Felix P was the first Bruern boy back and secured himself a top 25 place finish. He was shortly followed by the likes of Zac V and Jack P. A little further down the pack were Milo R (only year 5 competing from Bruern, so well done to him!), Theo S and Will P, nevertheless they picked up vital points for our overall team results and were a credit to the school.
The Seniors were up next, and they would be completing a 2.6 mile course (4.2km). I had frozen up watching the juniors run, so was delighted when one of the senior boys asked me, “Sir, please can you lead us in a warmup!” Soon after that the Seniors took off on what was becoming a very muddy course. Frank J was first back from Bruern and came 11th out of a field of around 60 boys. He was closely followed by the likes of Tom E and Hugo B (Lower Sixth) who both also secured a top 25 finish and Jack B finished soon after. Unfortunately William B had to pull out on the course due to medical reasons. But gave his all for Bruern and I can’t wait to see him back competing for the XC team next term.
The moment of the day for me however was when our last senior runner returned, Jago B. He won’t mind me saying this, but Jago has been out of sport for the majority of the term with a rugby injury. Nevertheless, now he is back on non-contact sport, he said he would come and race and give it his best. Jago is one of our strongest runners and a boy I have been working with since he was a junior. His running has improved a considerable amount and I was so chuffed he gave the race a go. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t to be. After about 1km Jago B twisted his ankle and looked in a lot of pain. I shouted to him to pull out if he was struggling. As I said this, he gritted his teeth and pushed on. I was getting worried as more and more boys crossed the finish line, and there was still no sign of Jago. However, I then look up to see one of my favourite and proudest moments of sport at Bruern. I can see Jago approaching the final straight and he is not alone. Every single junior and every single senior who had already raced, were running alongside him cheering him on for support. They all crossed the finish line together with Jago limping over the line. I didn’t ask any of the other boys to do this, and that made it even more special. A parent turned to me and said, “ what a team, that’s what sport is all about.” It made me feel extremely proud and that for me was so much more rewarding than winning any race.
Felix P and Frank J both received medals for being the first Bruern boys back in their respective races. The results were in and The Senior Team came an impressive 4th out of 10 teams overall, with our first 4 runners back securing valuable points. The Junior Team finished slightly further down the standings; however they all gave it 100% which is all I can ask for from the boys. Thanks also to Mr Cowie, who assisted me on the day.
Well done lads and I look forward to seeing how we get on in our races next term!
Mr Barrett
