By Charlotte Bell

Arriving at the Sweeney Cup, I knew I had a target on my back as I was the reigning champion. It was my 4th time in a row attending and won’t be my last. It was perfect running conditions; mild, overcast and not a breath of wind. There was lots of chatter and confusion at the registration desk, as people tried to predict their 8km time using their 5 km average. I haven’t done a parkrun in ages, so it was a bit of a guessing game but I settled on 34:15 for 8km and I ended up being a bit faster.

The kids race set off first doing a mixture of 2 and 4kms. The 1 hour countdown clock was turned on. Rhys had the music pumping and a microphone in hand as he announced the times and when each runner needed to go. One by one people set off.

Eventually it was my turn. Setting off down the hill, I knew in the back of my mind that I would be climbing back up it in not that long. It’s an enjoyable rural course with lots of cows and calves to distract me as I ran. Having the two laps down the bottom makes it interesting as you can see everybody and you can tell who you are catching and who is catching you.

Nobody passed me but I knew Dad was catching me. Starting the climb up the hill, I could see Mum’s purple T-shirt in the distance. As much as I wanted to, I knew she was too far away to catch. I found it very hard finishing on the hill as usual and it doesn’t help that hills are my weak point.

After everyone had finished, there was afternoon tea in the hall along with prize giving. There were three people who got disqualified for running much faster than their predicted times.