On January 23, CDNIS’s cross country team went to Tai Lam Country Park in Tuen Mun to participate in the annual ISSFHK championships. We had trained twice every week at Aberdeen Country Park, giving us a chance to warm up to similar conditions that we would face at Tai Lam. These regular trainings began in September and were targeted first to train for SEASAC in November and then pivoted to training for ISSFHK.  

Our U20 runners were to run 5.5km, our U14 and U16 to run 4km, and our U12 runners to run 2.3km. On top of that, the course was quite hilly, making it more difficult to run consistently. It was also only 12˚C with wind when races started, making it even more challenging to perform strongly. Another hindrance to our runners’ performance was a technical issue that appeared in the system. Due to either personnel issues or planning, it caused the U20 boys to run an extra kilometer, bringing their total to 6.5km. While this added to the mental and physical challenges brought upon the runners, it still showcased their resilience in pulling through and still doing well. Of them, Grade 11 runner Monty L. performed the best, claiming us seventh in the U20 Boys rankings, with a time of 25:33. Our other runners also did well, which combined to give us an overall U20 team ranking of fourth place out of over twenty schools present. Johnny L. also claimed fifth in the U14 Boys’ race with a time of 14:40, only 44 seconds behind first place from KGV.  

Overall, this year’s championships were not only a competitive event but also showed our competitive spirit and commitment to our team. All our success and hard work made our high rankings possible, and there is no doubt our team is continuing to train after the season, getting ready for next year’s season, and our next ISSFHK championship.