Student blogs

On Wednesday (it’s Friday today) I participated in another London Colleges League race. This time, it took place in Alexandra Palace, or as others call it (myself included now), Ally Pally.

This was the fourth and penultimate LCL race of the yearly series, but third for me.

The journey there from South Kensington campus took about 50 minutes, including tube, national rail train and walking. Upon arrival I noticed that the course already had red and yellow markers used to border the track. But what stood out most to me was the mud and slope of the terrain.

The run consisted of 3 laps around the marked course, each lap 2.2km long. This was my run, at least. The run for the girls consisted of 2 laps, same course.

For this course, many of Imperial runners wore spikes, and I was one of them. They are new to me, as I never had to use them back home. They come in varying sizes, but I feel my 9 mm spikes may not have been long enough.

Throughout the race I tried to keep up with others beside me, who may be runners from the Imperial team or from other unis. I find it motivating to keep going when another uni student is beside me, and as an Imperial representative, I don’t want to lose. As such times, I feel energy surging through me, and I feel energized to keep pushing.

Just after finishing the race, a team mate of mine handed me a brownie, which was extra delicious at the time. Our XC&A club has the tradition to bring baked goods to races like this. I really like it, and I’ll try to bake something for the next LCL race.

As expected, I was bathed in mud, or at least my legs were. I knew it would be a pain to wash everything when I got home, and it was.

After the LCL races, the club usually plans social events in places around London. Yesterday, the plan was to go to the Spoons (a pub) in Fullham Broadway, then for Karaoke at the Chelsea Pensioner, and finally to The Slug at Fulham, a bar, for late night drinks.

Unfortunately, I had to wash all my clothes when I got back to my hall after the race, so I wasn’t able to make it to Spoons on time. However, I did make it in time for the karaoke!

 

It was very fun and it made me remember about last week Friday, where the Bioengineering Society organized a karaoke night in our building.

After the karaoke, I headed home, so I didn’t get to go to the Slug. I heard that the rest that went had a lot of fun! As for me, I was glad to be in bed; I was very tired.

The next race for me will be the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) race in Gloucester. I have never been out of London, so this should be a new experience for me, and I am very excited! We will be leaving next week Friday, and arriving back in London in time for lectures on Sunday the 7th of November.

If you’re interested in the Cross Country & Athletics (XC&A) club, drop a comment down below and I’ll answer ASAP!

Until the next one,

Franz.

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