28 March 2018
The weather this year for our annual Inter-House Cross-country was unseasonably good which made the conditions for both running and spectating very comfortable. The event began with all of the Pre-Prep running in the Under 7 race over 800m. This was dominated by the Year 1s with Arthur and Max in a photo finish for 1st and 2nd place. They were both closely followed by Jed in 3rd.
In the Under 9 race (1525m) Zachary led from the start and stretched his lead throughout the race. Nathan and Isaac both finished in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. The best placed Year 3 pupil was Ted who finished a very creditable 5th.
The Under 11s (2025m) race was a very competitive one with the top 10 finishers all crossing the line within 30 seconds of each other. Max (Year 6) led from the ‘gun’ and finished in 1st place. Finn (Year 6) and Sam (Year 5) both finished in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
The eagerly awaited senior race (3050m) involving three Oxfordshire county runners was a ‘classic’ encounter. The triumvirate of Quinn (Year 7), Jonny and William (both Year 8s) all went out hard from the start and we wondered whether they could maintain this phenomenal pace and who would ‘break’ first. Quinn made a final kick with 600m to go and stretched his lead. The final result was, Quinn in 1st place in a new Year 7 and Year 8 school cross-country record of 10:35.20. Jonny and William finished in 2nd and 3rd place respectively and both breaking the previous Year 8 record as well – such was the quality of this race!
All the competitors showed great mental fortitude and no little effort. But what struck the staff the most was how all of the boys showed such great support for their peers regardless of house. They should all be very proud of their efforts!
The overall house results were as follows:
1. Dragon
2. Phoenix
3. Unicorn
4. Griffin
