By Natalie Devan
NUS High School’s first cross country event since 2013 was held this year on 24th March. Everyone in the school had to participate in the 3.2 km walk/run at Macritchie Reservoir – from the new year 1s and year 3s to the year 6s who would be graduating next year.
The event kicked off at 8 am with a mass warm-up session for the competitive runners before they set off. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you are), the weather was perfect this year.
The race began inside Macritchie Reservoir and brought runners through the wilderness of the forest for about 2 km, before continuing on to the sidewalk along Lornie road for 1 km. Running along the rocky trail was quite taxing as we had to drag ourselves up steep hills and ensure we didn’t slip down the muddy slopes. There were small stretches along the trail where there were beautiful views of the lake, though, that tempted some to take pictures.
Thankfully, there were student and teacher helpers scattered along the trail to ensure that we were hydrated and motivated. In a show of solidarity, some teachers, such as Mr Tan Rui Feng and Mr Hariz Tan decided to run with the students as well.
After a gruelling morning of running/walking, Fibonacci emerged as the champion house, with 338 points. Fleming was a close second.
We also had some interesting encounters with the flora and fauna of Macritchie Reservoir, including monkeys and centipedes, that stole our food and crawled into people’s pants. Although most people decided to take a Fun Walk instead of a Fun Run, the energy level was high and everyone had a good time in the end.
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