Student: Teacher Leslie, did you just bathe?
Me (with a perplexed expression): No, not just now.
Student: Then why are you so wet?
Me (looking down at my completely soaked shirt): It's my sweat from running!
This morning SMK Labis had a cross country race. All 700 students were divided into four houses - red, green, blue, and yellow - and then further divided into age groups which would determine their start time. Some excited, some not, we all came to school on a Saturday as if was a week day. Mohammad Haili and I led the aerobic warm-ups much to the delight of the students.
Preparing for the run - about to start warm-ups
The course was roughly a 5k, over half of which was through palm and rubber tree plantations. A beautiful course. As it was still early when we began, the morning mist created a serene atmosphere as we passed the young palm tree fields. And once the sun did pierce through the morning haze, the trees protected us from the heat. That is until the final 0.5km stretch which was in full sunlight.
Many teachers were posted along the course as were the St. John's club members who were responsible for administering first aid as needed. I believe only one girl fell and scraped her knee. A good percentage considering how many students, especially the boys, I saw sprinting down the uneven dirt hills!
I was the only teacher that ran with the students. I began with the second group of girls, but did not complete the race with them. A race that would have normally taken me 25-30 minutes lasted over an hour because I kept turning back to "force" students to jog a short distance with me. This way I ended up running with every gender and age group and probably made at least 100 students jog during a time they would have otherwise been walking. As we were jogging up a hill and I was encouraging my students to maintain a steady pace rather than sprint and walk, one student said, "Teacher, with you I can do this." Yet another reason to smile everyday. BOLEH!
Once everyone finished, there were refreshments and an awards ceremony for the top finishers in each age group. I without a doubt won the wet shirt contest. Malaysians don't seem to sweat much, whereas I was compared to last year's male ETA! Well, Leslie likes to exercise and Malaysia is hot.
Hydrating after the run
And of course many students wanted to take photos with me after. Attractive me! But at least the students were happy!
When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life!
Resting after the race
Medals!
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