On Thursday afternoon, 24 children from Willingham headed up the A14 to Stukeley Meadows to take part in a Cross Country Competition.

Stukeley Meadow's answer to Mr Carminati, is Mr Partridge and he arranged the event and did a fantastic job! 

The event consisted of two different races, an individual 'all v all' race and then a relay. Willingham took three children per age group per gender ranging from year 3 to year 6. 

The children from Willingham were very excited to race but the attention was diverted by the fantastic scenery in the outdoor area at Stukeley Meadows. Stukeley Meadows have a whole range of toys that 'wowed' the Willingham children including a tree house, an outdoor library, a putting green and even chickens!!

Mr Partridge explaining the plan for the afternoon with his 'Megaphone'!

After the initial welcome, Mr Partridge took the children on a 'track walk' to know where to run in the competition. 

The first race of the afternoon was the year 6 girls

On the countdown 5,4,3,2,1....the megaphone sounded and it was go go go.

The girls got off to a quick start and the onlooking children were cheering on their friends. The Willingham children noticed in the distance that Freya had raced into the lead...!

Stukeley were cheering on the girls very enthusiastically and it was definitely helping them find an extra gear to try and catch Freya.

 Emily and Lilia were also trying super hard to get to the front and put in so much effort on the almost 1km course.

Freya held onto her strong lead going into the last corner...

Freya continued her superb form from the Wimpole Cross Country by claiming victory in the girls race! An excellent effort from someone who 'doesn't enjoy running'(!?!?). Mr Carminati and the rest of the Willingham crew were delighted with the amazing effort from all the girls.

Year 6 boys had a tough job following that great race and were keen to get away.

Stukeley had some strong runners that set a very quick pace. The Willingham boys dug deep to try and keep up with the front runners..

Charlie was working super hard..

As was Kyle..

But our front Willingham boy was Alex!

Alex persisted and raced hard to break up the front of the pack. An amazing determined effort resulted in Alex claiming an incredible 2nd place! Well done to all the year 6 boys on a tough race!

Next, it was the turn of some very excitable year 5 girls..

Mr Partridge commented on Ava's super speedy start as she raced into a healthy lead!

Ava's pace was a little too much too soon as the rest of the girls soon caught up in the latter part of the first lap. Mia and Jess both were pushing Stukeley's star strider, Isla. Isla was racing very well but our girls were working super hard to keep up with her. 

Jess ran a great race, keeping very close to a very quick Isla resulting in an amazing 2nd place. Mia recovered from almost being overtaken on the last corner to finish in 3rd place to make it two podium places for the year 5 girls! Super effort from all the ladies!

Nine determined year 5 boys were ready to race next...

What a start! All three Willingham boys started strongly and raced into an early lead.

Dan and Alistair were way out in front at the end of the first lap..

Willingham were on course for a full house 1,2,3!!!

Stukeley found an extra gear on the final lap and put pressure on our boys with 3rd place definitely up for grabs! Dan and Alistair showed true determination to hold onto their positions and gave Willingham and amazing 1-2 finish! 

Well done to our three boys on their incredible results of 1st, 2nd and 4th! 

Next it was the turn on the smiley year 4 girls...

Louisa got off to a flying start sprinting the first 200m! Mr Carminati was blown away by the pace all the girls were running at. The girls from Stukeley matched the pace Eve, Kitty and Louisa were running at making it a very exciting and close race..

With the last bend to go, Louisa was in a great position to finish in the top 3!

Eve and Kitty weren't too far behind either.

Louisa battled hard with the Stukeley Striders and finished an amazing 2nd place. 

Again, another super effort from our Willingham children, well done. They should all be very proud.

Our year 4 boys were ready for their turn to race...

Robert and Edward's dad arrived just in time to see the boys and he wasn't to be disappointed! Ben started off with the leading pack but the pace was too much towards the second half of the race. 

Edward stormed into the lead after half way in a quick race..

Robert was battling with the Striders for a podium place too!

Edward stormed past the finish line in 1st place as it was a close finish for who came 3rd..

After much deliberation, Robert was awarded with 3rd place. Another amazing result for the Willingham children, a 1st and 3rd place. Well done to all the year 4 boys.

Finally the year 3's had their moment they'd been patiently waiting for..

Our three girls did very well and can be extremely proud of their effort. Hailey impressed with a great 4th place finish whilst Willingham had another two children in the podium places. Isla ran great to finish in 3rd place and Willingham had its 4th winner! G ran an exceptional race and won comfortably. Well done to all the year 3 girls, a great race.

The last individual race of the afternoon was the year 3 boys.

The boys were confident going into this race after they all performed magnificently at Wimpole. Wylie set a strong early pace and made it hard for the Striders to keep up. 

The children from Willingham were getting excited about the possibility of another win ! 

Leo was close behind trying to secure second place..

Tom worked very hard to try and finish in the top 3 but he had to settle for 4th place in an impressively quick race. 

A wonderful achievement from Willingham, winning 5 of the 8 races!

The children finished off the afternoon working in teams by racing in a relay. Each child had to run a full lap before handing over the baton.

The results of the relay were as follows...

Year 6 girls - Stukeley 

Year 6 boys - Stukeley

Year 5 girls - Stukeley

Year 5 boys - Willingham

Year 4 girls - Stukeley

Year 4 boys - Willingham 

Year 3 girls - Willingham

Year 3 boys - Willingham

Mr Partridge and Stukeley Meadows deserve a massive thank you from everyone at Willingham for hosting a wonderful and unique event and we are extremely privileged to be invited. The organisation and effort put in from Stukeley Meadows Primary School cannot be underestimated. It was a fantastic afternoon and everyone had a thoroughly good time. 

We hope to race against Stukeley Meadows in March to prepare for the Cross Country Event in St Neots.