KUDA DOES HIMSELF, HIS FAMILY, AND HIS CLUB PROUD

My International Experience

Cardiff

Having won the 400m at Scottish Schools Championships, I was given the opportunity to compete for the Scottish Schools squad at the SIAB international in Cardiff, an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. On the 19th of July, we left Hutchison’s Academy for Cardiff Metropolitan University, a journey that took nearly 11 long hours on a bus which was uncomfortably warm, having been heated by the summer sun.

When we finally arrived at the university campus which would be home for the next two days, we were hurried into the dining hall for dinner and then the long process of kit allocation, one that lasted well into the night with most of us not getting into bed till around midnight.

The next morning we all woke with excitement, the day we’d all been eagerly waiting for had finally arrived! After a rather rushed breakfast, we all jumped onto the team bus and headed for Cardiff International Sports Stadium which to our convenience was only 10 minutes away.

When we arrived, we all began our various warm ups and preparations for our races. I was feeling tired but positive I was going to run a good race. The time had finally come for us to compete and with the British number 1 on my inside, my only thought was to get a good start and run the first 200m hard. This, as I discovered shortly after, was a very bad idea. I led the race for around 250m but began to tire and watched the field shoot ahead as I battled through the lactic that was pouring into my legs. I finished the race in last place, an extremely disappointing result but left Cardiff with a great learning experience. It wouldn’t happen again!

Dublin

Two weeks after running for the Scottish Schools team in Cardiff, it was time for the Celtic Games, my second international competition of the summer. We departed from Strathclyde to Stranrear where we boarded the ferry to Belfast then drove for about 100 miles to Dublin where we were booked in to stay at the magnificent Carlton Hotel. After being served dinner, we were allocated our kit and went to bed early after what had been a long day of travelling.

The next morning, after having feasted on a large buffet style breakfast, we got onto the coach and were driven to the track which was only 2 minutes’ drive from our hotel. The sun was shining but the wind was exceptionally strong meaning many of the races ran produced times that didn’t quite reflect the effort of the athletes. Soon, it was my turn to run and I lined up on the start line, confident that my training would get me a result and with a much clearer race strategy than before. I set off at a much more steady pace than I had in Cardiff and finished a much more credible 3^rd place with a time that was only 6 hundredths off my PB. After a successful day for Scottish athletes and with the business end of the day behind us, it was time to enjoy the prize giving ceremony, a 3-course meal and a party with the athletes of the other Celtic nations before embarking on the long journey home the next day.

Being able to compete at an International level this season has provided me with invaluable experience and taught me many things, opening my eyes to the huge amount of work I need to put in to make it to the top in athletics and be the best not only in Scotland but Britain and so on.

(Above words by Kuda – September 2014)