On Friday, January 29, 2010, Dellwood Middle School's Blue House snatched the cross-country honours from last year's champions, Maroon House in their annual cross-country run.

The course was 1.1 miles long. The event began at North Village Field.

The students had to run 1 lap around North Village Field, then through St. John's Grave Yard, up Langton Hill, through Black Watch Pass, and finally back to North Village Field.

Unfortunately this wasn't the best day for runners because it was a rainy, windy day; most runners however had a strategy for competing the course and the rain didn't stop the students from taking the competition seriously.

The runners all had to prepare themselves differently in order to win the race for their house team.

In the month of March, the top ten boys and girls from each grade level will go on to participate in the Interschool Cross Country meet at the Arboretum to compete against runners from other schools.

Faheemah Scraders, an M2 Dellwood student who was the first female to finish said: "I prepared myself by eating the right foods and stretching a lot. I also got a lot of sleep."

Students were not the only competitors. Teachers ran as well.

Mr. Waltham, a member of the staff, said: "I ate low carb foods, and did plenty of stretching. The longer the distance the better."

Emily Cowan, a Dellwood Middle School student who placed second in the M2 girls' race said: "The rain made it so much harder to run but I made it."

Faheemah Scraders added, "I just kept my pace until I saw the finish line and then I started sprinting."

Even though it was an unpleasant day, the students and staff still participated and had fun. There were lots of smiles and laughter despite the gloomy weather.