This story is by our wonderfully British-accented Frozan (on the right in the photo). She is a remarkable, young woman from Afghanistan, currently studying at Dauntsey’s—a 600-year-old boarding school in England. She will finish school this year and be off to university!
OUR school’s Summer Challenge, a race that includes running, bicycling and kayaking, was in July and was really good. I really
enjoyed it! My friend and I came third out of eight teams. It was a
surprise for both of us as our goal at the beginning of the Challenge
was “not to come last and finish the race without any accidents”. We
also won the trophy for the Fastest Female Team. Can you guess how
many female teams there were?
The weather was just perfect
for the race that day. Only while running was it quite hot at the bottom
of the mountain [the race was held in Wales], but as we gained height it got cooler.
I
was quite afraid of the cycling part as it was the longest part (18km) and our teachers told us that the cycling part was the most likely part
to have accidents. But it turned out that the cycling was the easiest part.
Running (actually we ran only a short distance . . . most of it we
walked) was the hardest part as it was a very steep mountain. Next came kayaking and then cycling. My friend and I finished the Challenge in 4 hours! —Frozan
Editor’s note: Before entering the school’s Summer Challenge, Frozan had never ridden a bike or been in a kayak! A couple of weeks of brave, determined practice before the race resulted in their being “the fastest female team”!