In year 11 i did cross country to get the day off. Got into zone by default because no one showed up, got into regional by default because no one showed up and then at regional i got sympathy cheers on my way to the to the finish line because two races started while i was still running. Totally worth the day off.
in year 12 I made it to state basically the same way. at school I crushed it. at district I came 3rd (normally I would finish 11-20). so I get to regional they took the top 10 as runners and 2 reserves. 13 people showed up and I came 11th beating 12th by about 1m. go to state expecting to just have the day off, but somebody didn't show up so I got called up. came 87th out of about 120-130 so I didn't go as terrible as I was expecting.
Wow, this is me as well. Won at school, came second at interschool. Got sent to the state competition and I think I came second to last. Never trained, don't think I was ever very fast just no one else could be bothered 🤣
I grew up in a very rural town that is mostly dense gum forests. They ran our cross country in the national park across the highway from our school. The school didn't have enough staff to man the cross country properly, so they just set up a marquee at the entrance to the trail and sent a teacher in to be the checkpoint about 1km into the track. The rest was just left up to the kids to make it to the checkpoint teacher and then back. It became increasingly clear to myself and fellow students that the winner of the race was just the person who made it out of the forest first... And thus, the moment we were out of eye shot of the teachers, the hunger games broke out. Being a public school in a rural town, everyone was a bit rough around the edges. Rocks were thrown, kids pushed into likely snake infested bushes, the fast little kids had to sprint for their lives with the larger kids hot on their tail, not trying to beat them in a foot race but legitimately attempting to incapacitate them. Most of us were 6. The prize for winning was a piece of paper and a $0.30 paddlepop from the tuckshop. They took us out of class for a whole day for this event. They cancelled the event indefinitely after that year, I wouldn't be shocked if it was still not a thing 20 years on. Since then I have come to the realisation that kids 6-9 can easily be motivated to commit attempted murder for the promise of a cold snack and minor praise.
Me and a mate walked the entire way around our school cross country course in grade 5, found a mayonnaise or tartare sauce squirty bottle around three quarters of the way through the course, just lying on the ground. Naturally, we picked it up and took it with us to the end. We lightly jogged the final stretch up a hill together so we wouldn't get in too much trouble for not trying or something, and arm in arm too so the teachers thought we were such great mates supporting each other, but little did they know the nefarious plan we had concocted in our 10- year-old minds. We crossed the line, in equal last place by at least a minute, then my mate did his best Lewis Hamilton impersonation and squirted the sauce bottle all over the waiting crowd of students and teachers who probably just wanted to get it over with by this point, just like it was a freshly fizzed bottle of champagne or some shit. What a time.
I was a very unfit kid in Primary School, I was slow, fatter than I am now and lack endurance. My House (Red) actually used me in a strategy because of this that when I would get over lapped by the fitter kids, I'd try to block everyone as much as I could except for the runners in my own House
My biggest memory of cross country is being so slow that I was stuck with the other slowest guy in the class. We agreed to cross the finish line together and instead he bolts full pump right before the finish.
Real shot in the dark but did that happen in Taralga? Because I did exactly that... They made my fat ass the sports captain and wanted to live up to the title even though it was by default because there was only 4 kids in year 6.
During my year 4 cross country. I walked it, then halfway through sat in some bushes and played my DS. I decided I better finish. So I walked to the end and everyone was shocked and cheering. They thought I had won the year 6 cross country which had started an hour and a half later. I crossed the finish line and the principle came and said congratulations on such a fast time.
@@bongocat401 thats not how that works. first he said 10, it would be 1 grade, and secondly a year 6 is usually 12, so a year 6 being 11 would mean they were rather young for the year, which isn't uncommon, my year 12 graduating class had a 16 yr old in it, that doesn't mean all the 18 yr olds were held back 2 years.
My school was on a massive property with heaps of bush land that we had to run around for cross country but there was never any markers about where to go so it was basically “hey kids run around the bush for 2 hours in Australian summer, hope some of you make it back.” One yeah a kid got lost and no one, not even the teachers went looking for him, he just rocked up at the end of the day crying saying he got lost and left behind.
I remember spite-walking the cross country because I didn't agree to be there. I was directed to skip three quarters of the course, and still managed to keep two busloads back an extra 45 minutes while being pushed rather forcefully up the hill to the finish by the PE teacher. I told them they'd regret making me do it.
They used to tell us that they can't start the next year until everyone crosses the line so you're making everyone stay back if you don't try. I challenged that idea and got over taken by 3 year groups.
I remember having an asthma attack about 20% into one district cross country carnival, one of the teachers - instead of turning back the (obviously struggling to breathe) 10 yr old - made me complete the entire lap of the course. I ended up in the back of an Ambulance on a nebuliser.
@@GentlemansCombatives I went to regionals once and didn't know what place I was in so I didn't really try in the last 200 metres. Turns out I was 1 place off going to state
The super athletic, academic, co curricular kid that was always really nice was literally the Captain America of the cross country, going “on your left” to every single kid
My friend back in primary school tried a technique of eating lollies before starting the race so she had more energy, she ended up coming third but threw up everywhere at the finish line
I also came here to say this. I was too poor to have them as a kid so need to know I finally made it. Also need to know about LCM Bars, Rollups and Yogos
@@floydy8359 it's not one of those damn coles locals is it? They're the fucking worst, halved their stock range so they can sell $25 frozen lasagnes to fuckwits who don't realise they could literally get a proper restaurant meal for the same price.
I was involved in the cross country that was responsible for ending school sport events that left the school grounds for several years. As we lined up in age brackets several kids chucked their bags over the fence and as we ran out, scooped them up and just went home, others did pit stops at the fish n chip shop or hopped the fence out of sight of the teachers and hid by the bike shed til they saw the first runners come back. I was in under 19s so I saw the later stages of the shemozzle, including teachers coming to an agreement with the kids at the chip shop that if you already placed your order you could collect it but everyone else had to keep running.
Ah the memories of kids taking shortcuts and thinking they got away with it. I was the fast kid who ran too fast at the start then crashed and burned with an asthma attack about 100m in.
@@abcdefgh1 yup. I took short cuts every year because 1)Cross Country was mandatory at the school I went to and 2) I hated it. Always made sure to finish in the bottom third and was never caught out (Apart from by a fellow pupil called James Bradley which cost me my copy of Contra on Gameboy to buy his silence)
I have 2 memories, one more fucked up than the other 1. I was in Year 4. I had one kid exactly like Glenn tackle me and throw punches at me because he thought I stuffed his schoolbag with grass (the field was just mowed that day). Turns out it was one of his mates. There was no teacher involvement and I got no apology for it 2. I believe I was in Year 8. I was jogging along and twisted my ankle stepping on what I believed was a large rock. Looked back and turns out I tripped on the severed head of a kitten instead. Yeah that one scarred me for a while
"If I meditate, I'll be able to teleport too." Jordan strikes me as the kind of kid who quoted the "I can win, I feel great, I CAN DO THIS" speech unironically. And yes, the blood at the back of the throat feeling was why I LOATHED the beep test.
I remember cross country! It was a 2.5km run on some bush track in the middle of nowhere. I was always a terrible long distance runner, so my strategy was to sprint at the start and die for the rest. I got out to a commanding lead, and I'm not exaggerating. I was probably 400m in front by about halfway, and my insides felt like they were going to rupture but my strategy was working. Not long afterwards some kid passed me, then another...... then another. I was so fucked that I was running pigeon toed and I was desperately trying to hold my shit in - literally. Then it happened with the finish line in sight. I sharted and I could feel the poo nugget bouncing around my dacks. The more I pushed myself to the line more I could feel the nugget rolling around violently. I came 4th and shit myself.
These sporting events really just make it clear that it wasn't the education parents valued about school, it was the free daycare. I tried to stay home for every single one but was forced to go because according to dad I would 'regret missing out on the experience' later in life. It's been over 15 years and when I remember that it even happened, I relive only my boredom and frustration.
I went to over two dozen schools in my life so I ended up doing a cross country nearly every year (one year I had to do it twice) and it always ended in tragedy. Faintings, heat stroke, broken bones and two fatal asthma attacks. Cross country was the harbinger of death and suffering in my school years.
So I'm British and my secondary school did ONE cross country whilst I was there. And it ended in almost tragedy. Two kids fainted, one sprained an ankle, one fell and bumped his head, one got a nosebleed, one SNAPPED HIS DAMN FINGER on a rock and three were found smoking in the forest behind the school. All of this on a 29 degree celsius day in England (which is bloody hot to us, but not to you all) and I'm not surprised more collapsed or went away to the hospital.
From your comment I'm reminded of a time in the 1950s when the country welcomed much needed tradesmen to help rebuild the economy. The children these new arrival were noticeably unlike us. They were shorter in stature, spindly and spoke with whiney accents that were difficult to make sense of. I guess that arriving in a strange country that while familiar was still strange and probably daunting, presented difficult challenges to try to live with. Children being what they are and along with wearing short pants, the English kids displayed an almost translucent white skin. Many were given the name of, lily legs. That was many years ago now and recent surges of emmegration are from mainly around the Pacific Rim where lily legs are an unknown phenomenon.
@@PropheticShadeZ 29 Is unusually hot for the UK, that was probably the hottest day of the year. Saying that we are breaking heat wave records right now, its mid 30s up north and 40+ down south.
In Year 12 I wasn't interested in going to any of the classes I had when cross country was on and was already a fairly fit runner. Most of the class wanted to study and use their time productively so only 1/5 or less of the year decided to enter as it was voluntary and maybe 10 or 9 males were racing. My chances of winning some easy awards for my last year of school was pretty good. I would usually get into regional cross country but no hire. Not amazing, but I think I was a decent runner. I was the skinny fit build and had some cross country experience so this wasn't a rash assertion by any stretch. The race starts and for the duration of the first 2/3 of the race i'm just pacing myself, slowly overtaking all the other runners most of which spent their energy at the start. I felt pretty confident about my winning chances and felt great but was very cautious. Because there was one classmate called Bruce who I knew had been training and I knew had a good chance of winning as well, he was shorter than I but a lot stronger, again I was cautious. Its the final 300 meters of the race and me and Bruce are neck and neck, he tells me I should just go on ahead and sprint for the victory. So I use my last reserves of energy and use my strong legs and kick it to the finish. I'm almost there at the finish line when all of a sudden, I notice everyone watching waving at me. As I'm slowing down and slowly coming to my senses, I look around and notice the finish line was another 100 meters to the left. All of a sudden Bruce was Sprint full speed with the finish line in his sights! I bolt forward mustering everything I have in me in the hopes I can still beat him for what was a super short but intense moment! I almost overtake him, but sadly Bruce won 1st place, leaving me with the silver 2nd. I don't blame Bruce for sprinting for the win (I'd have done the same if i were in his shoes) it's my fault somewhat. I hope who ever made a poorly marked stupid sudo finish line a kick in the crotch. Thank you for reading have a good day.
I remember Cross-country being absolutely horrible at my tiny school. There were only 2 kids in my Year, so each year, I, the fat kid, kept getting 2nd place and shipped off to "regionals" to run the 2nd, harder course, and coming dead last. I think it kept happening because my family went out of our way to piss off the extra-religous hag of a Teacher at our school. Was worth it. She once gave us shit for not bringing "proper" lunches, so my Dad sent me in with a dead pickled Python curled up in my lunchbox. Scarred her pretty well. She stopped checking after that.
I remember being in a teacher's car driving to the local school chess tournament with the three other nerds who only qualified because we knew the rules, not a word was said. Come to think of it there was a real shit kid moment in that tournament where I beat some kid and he ends up going 'nah its a draw cause the pieces got all mixed up 5 turns ago' and I just went with it because I wanted to go home
I cannot imagine being an arbiter for a school chess tournament. I swear kids will trade kings and as an arbiter you have to just decide what the fuck happens next.
I remember doing a cross country race. 2 kids in my class had disabilities, every able bodied kid beat them except for me who came in dead last. No worse feeling then everyone cheering you on as you cross the line last. Thanks for bringing those memories flooding back Jordies! :)
At school, running was part of every second Wednesday's exercise programme. Lazy twenty something teachers set us off on the run, did not accompany us, instead congregated in the staff room smoked cigarettes and probably talk about the crappy life they were forced to endure while teaching kids whose likely destiny for the majority was to become prostitutes and criminals.
I remember when i did cross country in year 7, me and a couple of my friends just decided to walk the whole thing, except for the first 200m or so when you kinda have to run in order to seem like you’re putting in some effort, but we were the last race of the day so once we passed the first teacher checkpoint she asked us if we were the last ones, to which we said yes, and then told us to pick up all the cones as we went so that a teacher wouldn’t have to go back along and pick them up. The best time was in year 11 though when me and all my friends had set up a little picnic in the far corner of the field and because we were so far away from everyone else, the teachers forgot to come and tell us that it was time for our race, so none of us ended up running that day, although to be fair all of us were just going to walk it.
So Grade 5, One of my teachers is driving me to the next town for a science nerd kid thing. She was always really caring and nice. I didn't expect her to put her foot to the floor and kick dirt as she peeled out of the schools parking lot. She was going so fast in her tiny car she didn't stop in time and drove right over a duck running on the road. She even said 'Gee I hope that they're okay' as she drives full crazy to the main road. It was roller coaster fun but also terrifying!
The key insight I had when I was a youngin doing the cross country was that. If I took a coupla wizz fizzes with me then, they would give me the boost I need midway through the race when I had eventually gassed myself (because who wouldn’t sprint at the start to make it look like you’re the gun in front of the school). Needless to say the strategy was suboptimal.
I remember for my school all the teachers sitting at the checkpoints had spray bottles who would spray you with water when you ran past. Something about it was slightly patronising, idk why just something about sweating my ass off and all they give us is a little spray of water which ends up feeling more uncomfortable than cooling you down. Cross country is basically national torture like I'm all for exercise and stuff but damn sports day was way more fun than this. We did our cross country around some soccer fields that were like a street away from the school. Grade 5 and 6 had to run a different course which was basically the main course but with an extended part to make it longer and we had to run the course twice. I remember in grade 6 I had a chest infection and near the end of my first lap around the course one of the teachers at the checkpoint felt so bad for me they made me sit down for like 20 minutes. Then after that they told me to just finish the lap and don't do the second one. Made me feel real bad but also I can't really complain cause I didn't want to do it anyway.
Me and my best friend in our primary school cross country would wear our shoes on the opposite feet as we thought it squished our foot muscles out into our legs and made us run better
As someone who usually did well in the cross country, the start of the race was always such a temptation as to whether or not I join the 10 idiots sprinting the first 100m or not. Peer pressure usually won in the end 🤣
I remember getting a loud 'Oi' yelled at me from a teacher during year 7 cross-country for reading a Harris Scarfe junk mail leaflet I found on the route (passed along houses); it had lingerie models in it, which for 13-year-old me was the best thing ever.
I finished 3rd at a cross country once and was moderately proud of myself, but when it came time to hand out the medals they gave the 3rd place medal to the kid that finished 4th. Still a bit pissed off about it...
My cross country involved us running around a soccer oval for 6 or so laps. To keep track of # of laps, each lap, you would grab a paddle pop stick from a teacher at the start/finish line I would grab 2 sticks each lap from different teachers without them seeing. I won cross country by miles and progressed to the next stage, where other school kids would compete At that stage, I could not cheat. Needless to say, I lost the race by country miles. But I did get the day off school
The only cross country I remember was the one where Daniel punched Brett in the face and broke his nose, the minute we were all out of sight from the teachers. We were all trying to figure out the logistics of the punch as Daniel was 4foot tall and Brett was 6foot. There was a jump involved possibly a double jump.
I'm not a teacher, but when I was in kindy, we were given safety scissors and then told specifically how to protect ourselves, use them safely etc etc. I cut my fingers open three minutes later using them to slash at a plastic bag. I was excelling from an early age. Doing the undoable.
Year 10. Had bought a pair of TNs a few weeks earlier. Track was muddy, and about 10 or less seconds in, a shoe got stuck in the mud and came clean off (the pair I bought was about half a size too big). I remember being too pissed to run and just walking listening to alice in chains “dirt” on shuffle and only running (the term running used loosely) towards the end to impress everyone. I finished about a second after my mate Zac in the 15 year boys group, who passed me towards the end and came 3rd. I came 24th out of the 16 year boys group and I still remember zac saying through heavy breaths “I’m making it to District this year!” As I walked back to the gazebos where all the boys sat
In year 7 my class had a week camp away up in the Sunshine coast (I live in Brisbane). My mum couldn't afford to pay for the camp fees so I wasn't going to go. My parents had separated so when my dad who I didn't live with found out I couldn't go, he felt bad for me and paid for the camping trip. He arranged for my principal to drive me all the way to camp on the sunny coast by myself. To this day I will never forget the awkward conversation and silence as we drove for an hour and a half to camp. Arriving to camp days late with my principal made me very popular with my classmates 😂
...and then we had outward bound school camping. Highlights one kid got attacked by an ore from the next boat across from us (kid defended himself with his ore like a champ, full maritime martial arts). Same attacker kept getting hit in the back of the head by his best mate rowing behind him...might explain after repeated brain injury why he then attacked another boat. The kid later sitting on a suitcase calling the teachers bluff about being sent home and seeing his face change from smug to despair as the 4WD rocked up through the bush to collect him. Great times 10 out of 10, would relive that moment just to watch it all again.
Cross country was a big deal in our school years 3-6. I was quite asthmatic so my memory was finishing 9th every year and running straight past the finish line to the school nurse who was waiting for me with my ventolin puffer. In high school we had a sport day every week. You signed up for different sports and everyone took a bus and a teacher would run it for you. I don't remember what sport it was but I missed the bus, was walking around trying to work out what to do when I see the teacher in charge, the agriculture teacher. Let him know and he's like "Righto Rico get in the ute you can come with me" He then stops just up the road from where we were supposed to go on a hot summer day and spends I swear about 15 minutes talking to the owner of one of those places that sells like... dirt and woodchips? Meanwhile at the oval that I can just barely see from his extremely hot ute are about 30 unsupervised teenagers wondering how much more shit they could get away with until a teacher materialises from the aether. 10/10 would've picked that sport again.
Year 12 Japanese HSC Speaking Exam practice - my teacher drove me and the three other students in my class (yep there were a grand total of 4 of us) to the Sydney CBD for a day of practice speaking tests. When we got back to her car, which she’d parked in a Darling Harbour complex, she was horrified that parking their would cost her $67. I still remember us offering to give her money 😭
as soon as I saw this vid I had memories of never losing a cross country at school from years 5-7. once I got to highschool though everyone else started growing and I couldnt compete
Cover School Fetes day next! It's one of the rare occasions where you see most of your school who aren't your friends and their families in a casual setting.
They used to send each year level around the track one after the other, so when I was in year 9, a mate and I ducked down amongst the year 7 group until we were out of sight, proceeded to run the rest of the way like normal, teachers were blown away by our time when we got back (assuming we'd left with the rest of the year 9s), got asked to go to zone but said I wasn't interested 😂
Best cross country memory was when my kids participated. The principal was commentating the event, and said that they were going round the outside, then broke into singing Eminem. “Two trailer park girls go round the outside....” Kids didn’t appreciate it, but the parents did.
School cross country... Memories honestly. Looking back on it now, the year 1 cross country course at my school was just a 150m piss take done in a minute. Then by year 4 it was a lap around the perimeter of the school which turned into 2 laps around it and a lap of the seniors oval by year 7. Back then this was possible because my primary school was surrounded by paddocks and bushland with a giant hill along the back fenceline which we all dubbed it as 'Killer Hill' cause everyone was fucked after climbing the fucking thing. I don't even think that exists anymore cause in the decade since I've left, half of the area around the school has been turned into housing development or a brand spanking new drop off zone so the little bastards there these days can count themselves very lucky cause in my day cross country was life or death Then in highschool the rules were very different. We had a choice whether to do it or not which was fine cause the course was off school grounds in a park located in a somewhat shady neighbourhood. Moajority of people who did that were all the sports academy students so full of themselves because they were hand picked in year 8 to play those sports while the rest of us opted to just stay back at school. We still didn't end up getting out of it though because the school had this 'fun run' concept where all we did for a whole hour was run laps around the school ovals instead with each form class' teacher sitting around the perimeter with a roll list of each of their allocated students just marking down the amount of times we each ran past. You'd have the athletic but not 'specially gifted enough to play in the sports academy' students do around 5-6 laps, the average students try but only manage 3-4 laps which consisted of the brainiacs and nerds who genuinely tried then theres the lazy students that eventually turned into sluts and druggos just do 1-2 laps, complain the whole time doing a light walk then spend 40 minutes sitting with their friends gossiping or having a chat with the teachers
We had a similar hill at school aptly named “heartbreak hill” for both its steep incline and for all the people who asked someone out there and got rejected lmao
AHHH the old cross country. A day where 90% of the school see it as a day off from class. The other 10% fighting to be the fasted kids in their year. And getting upset that the same kid once again beat them :P
You wanna hear a really awkward interaction? My high school drama teacher gave an open invitation to the class to attend a stage play and I was the only kid to show up. Arrived at her house to carpool into the city and her husband had to entertain for 15 min before she got home. All-in-all it was a good play and a fun night!
year 12, HSC. my school gave me the wrong address for my last exam. one of the teachers had to drive out and collect me and drop me off at the right place. And then once I had finished the exam I was stranded at a different school as my school didn't contact my parents to let them know.
Funny story about one of my cross country's. I have asthma, the medication for asthma is basically distilled steroids. My homunculus brain correlated the two and perceived it as a good thing .I noticed that whenever I took a *puff* I could run a bit longer, continued to do this throughout the race. I was the kid panting in the other dimension as my body broke its astral chains. Despite being a fat kid I ended up in 8th place out of the entire school of around 350 kids. Once I realized what had happened I decided to sit out of the next primary school cross country and just help the teachers because while being an asthmatic in a long distance run isn't that bad when you properly dose your medication, I'd rather not pull a Lance Armstrong and lose my left testicle at the age of 11. (Just finished the video and yes my throat felt like a liquid rust slurry when I finished)
Our cross country was 5km run thru bushland near the Murray river. A week before the river flooded,we were made run thru a billabong ,up to our waste in mud ,Many kids injured due to barb wire fence hidden under water. One kid broke his arm another a dislocated knee and two ambos were called. No water bottles in those days either , running in 36 degree heat .Most of that flood plain now has housing on it.
Mate as soon as I heard the title I had flashbacks to when I was actually 10 doing my first cross country and nearly dying 40 m from the finish line to a stitch.
I remember year 7 cross country, I never actually crossed the finish line. But about 2 years later I found the exact spot where the finish line was just walking about town, and I finally crossed it. It took me 2 years to finish it, that has to be a world record
Cross country was always the worst day of the year for me. I have tibial torsions in each leg, meaning literally my bones are twisted so my knees, hips, and feet don’t align properly, which makes running hard. I also have a genetic disease called hypohydrotic ectodermaldysplasia, which basically means I don’t sweat. My friends would always say they weren’t interesting in actually running and we’d all stick together, but they’d always abandon me about 1/3 of the way through. I also have severe anxiety, so I’d get super scared about being alone (because I was always last so it’s not like anyone was going to catch up to me and I wouldn’t be alone anymore). So not only was I struggling to run and overheating, but also having to fight off a panic attack. Great memories 🙃
Not a teacher, but I was working in a school (schools have started outsourcing internal sport to small coaching companies instead of casual PE teachers) I was setting up a soccer drill on a particularly windy school oval, my contact lens fell out onto my finger. I cleaned it and went to put it back in my eye, and a small child (probably a Glenn) ran over and blew it off my finger. Made the kid run laps till he cried and got thanked by his mother after he told her
Cross country every year at my school. Because ours was done partly outside the school, me and my buddies managed to find a spot they didn't have line of sight and didn't patrol, and just bailed on it to go to a nearby fish and chip shop for the afternoon. Worth the detention every year.
I remember my cross country, Ruffey Lake park in Doncaster, maybe 93-94? Anyway me and a mate had stashed a backpack with a bong and a mix in a gully not far off the circuit we were supposed to run, we got a couple of Kms under our belts then got a couple of bongs into us! came in last 😂 the rest of the run was laughs a plenty. good times.
Silly Jordan Lithgows Postcode is 2790. When are we going to hold Political Journalists accountable for their factually incorrect but otherwise meaningless mistakes?
I remember our course went slightly off-campus into the surrounding burbs. A bunch of us found a massive shortcut in-between the checkpoints. So we just chilled there for a while then rejoined the course to make the timing seem believable (we were not athletic at all).
1994: Year 4 cross country, they had us do staggered starts between the girls and the boys - girls first. Caught up to my crush, Kimberly, and I of course had to blow past her in the most exaggerated way, huffing and puffing to indicate excellence and get her to simply look at me (please look at me, you goddess). 2022: I realise I'm Glenn. FFS. Thanks Jordies.
I did cross country from years 5-12, did after school training in a private school twice a week with Saturday sports. I would get 5-6th in year 5 against year 6's in 3km and then in year 6, I would win every race for my school in 3km. Highschool, I would get 15-26th depending on place and schools so I was running anywhere from 6-9km. In the changeover school, I would do personal training and still ran getting 6th in my final race in year 12. Here is my tip on doing well in cross country: Do running training if your school has one or else run 3km lap in your park and make sure you mark time every session so you can keep track of your speed and eventually your fitness levels, Eat carbohydrates like pasta or other alternatives the night before the race, wear a track suit of your school or your own to keep warm in winter and wear light shorts/singlet/light running shoes, walk the course well before the race so you can familiarise the course which all school hosts should do in a large group, warm up and stretch before the race and stay well hydrated, during the start of the run, stay in the middle or in the pack group, advance if you can or stay behind the top 5, sprint in last 100-50 meters to the final line as it will catch a lot of runners off guard and you could sneak a couple of places. Good luck whomever reads this as I did do this from 2003-2010.
This was from year 9, we would run around the school field and, because the head PE teacher thought it would be fun, all the other teachers would throw dyed cornflour at us. My Hums teacher chasing me with orange dust is still in my memory and remember picking my ear to find purple covering my finger.
I remember in PE in High school for the 2 weeks before the cross country our teacher made us train for it and because i didn't wear shorts the PE teacher wanted me to write lines instead. I told the teacher i could run in my pants and jumper no prob and he laughed his head off. I laughed my head off when i came 3rd behind the 2 most athletic students we had in our school at the time after completing the same coarse as all the others. I'll never forget it. Couldn't do it no, my old ankles just wont let me run far at all. lol.
Regional areas of the country also had a district school sports day where groups of schools would compete against each other. There is also the Golden Circle fund runs. We need videos for those now.
The "Cross country" at my school was a slightly wacky run around the oval. There was a slight incline on one end and a single tree about halfway up it so we just had to run around that. It wasn't a proper event either nor was there a prize, it was just some spontaneous thing the teachers would decide to do first thing in the morning to make everyone throw up because they just had breakfast. Once there was a week where we had to do it every day, always first thing in the morning. Sucked big time
Technically still running cross country to this day because in grade 12, they packed up the finish line before I finished the race. I got to the final stretch and saw that they were giving out the ribbons and stuff so I continued the course towards the finish line and some teacher roused on me and told me sit down. I'm cursed to occasionally remember that fact, and ruins my day every time.
I once got driven back to school by in the principals car because I had a heatstroke at PSSA. She hated me so much, I got a real kick out of lathering the dying leather seats in her clapped out Mercedes E class in 11 year old sweat.
my childhood best friend is known in school for her nic addiction. nobody smokes and vapes more than this girl. girl downs around 50 vapes a year or more even. lungs like a chimney. in year 12 she decided to try cross county for the last time (optional for seniors in hs) because she was like “fuxk it why not it’s my last year i’m just gonna try”. and other than a little bit of training running around the local park, she had no pro experience. this girl came first in school, went to zone AND CAME FIRST IN ZONE. AND MADE IT TO STATE. nobody knows how in gods glory any of this was possible when lung cancer is breathing down her spine.
I so badly wanted to do cross country but the teacher coordinating it that year had it out for me and told me and my mum I wasn’t up to it even though I did all the training without issue and at the same level as the kids who were allowed to go. I’d forgotten how shitty I was about it til now. Thanks, unfriendlyjordies.
Fun fact: During my high school years my aviation teacher wanted to take the class on a trip to the airport, but no bus was available so we played "People smuggler" using my reputation as the good kid throughout the town to avoid suspicion. I discovered that country airports are not nearly as interesting or secure as city airports, and the local glider club tow aircraft had the rather apt registration of "VH-TUG"
track and field they pick the worst week every year after a nice rain. green standing water on the track(AKA a spot the local drunk mowed and rutted up with a big ass lawn mower with tire chains) , but some how its hot sunny and humid and you get 1 FREEZE after.
My memory is causing my bronchial tubes to bleed in year 9. I never exercised, didn't play sport, most of my time on my laptop playing red alert, 150 kids, co-ed, If I had to do this stupid race I was going to do it well, finishing 6th ahead of more than half the jocks that we're trying, but nearly killed myself.
Not exactly a cross country story but a reflection of the view of the time "just get on with it". I went to a all boys Sydney high school 35 plus years ago. One day (Year 11) we went on a day trip and at the last stop north of Sydney we were all told to be back on the bus by about midday from memory to drive back to Sydney. In due course all bar two got on the bus and we headed off back to School at the designated time, the teacher did not notice the missing two. When we pointed out (after driving for about 10 minutes) to the teacher that we were two short he had no sympathy they were told when to be back and we continued back to school, yes they were left behind. After the initial shock a few of the nice folk on the bus figured the least they could do was rifle through their bags which were left on the bus for anything of value, lots of empathy on that bus. The two stragglers did complete their surprise cross country event and get back to Sydney, eventually (no mobiles in those days). The teacher was not sacked but there were lots of meetings the next day. To this day I turn up to everything on time, usually early, ahhh the formative years.
As one of the kids with the longest legs, I can confirm the long legs theory coming second in year 6 and first in year 7 with no effort put into training
Ahahaha aight I've got a cross country story.... Year 5 and I was in a group of friends at the time, one chick pulls out a puffer whilst running ahead and does this dramatic fall dropping the puffer and pretending like she was going to pass out, we run and grab the puffer for her but it's "too late" (we didn't realise being kids at the time but anyway) we rushed her back to school in arms and all holding her for us to find out later on hours later near the end of the day after it had all finished she was faking it and it was a puffer that had her brothers name on the puffer/ prescription everything and she was fine 🙃
I can die in peace now Jordies ❤
Rest Easy Sir.
The man, the myth, the legend.
You can only rest until you've finished grading this assessment. Your watch is not over yet
Jerson gave tou the ultimate power to decide a future video. Surely your quest is only just beginning!
You fuckin did it, you deadset legend ❤
In year 11 i did cross country to get the day off. Got into zone by default because no one showed up, got into regional by default because no one showed up and then at regional i got sympathy cheers on my way to the to the finish line because two races started while i was still running. Totally worth the day off.
won by default. the best 3 words at any school sports event
in year 12 I made it to state basically the same way. at school I crushed it. at district I came 3rd (normally I would finish 11-20).
so I get to regional they took the top 10 as runners and 2 reserves. 13 people showed up and I came 11th beating 12th by about 1m. go to state expecting to just have the day off, but somebody didn't show up so I got called up. came 87th out of about 120-130 so I didn't go as terrible as I was expecting.
You’re the Steve Bradbury of cross country and you’re my hero
Wow, this is me as well. Won at school, came second at interschool. Got sent to the state competition and I think I came second to last. Never trained, don't think I was ever very fast just no one else could be bothered 🤣
The two sweetest words in the English language: "DE FAULT DE FAULT DE FAULT!"
I grew up in a very rural town that is mostly dense gum forests. They ran our cross country in the national park across the highway from our school.
The school didn't have enough staff to man the cross country properly, so they just set up a marquee at the entrance to the trail and sent a teacher in to be the checkpoint about 1km into the track. The rest was just left up to the kids to make it to the checkpoint teacher and then back.
It became increasingly clear to myself and fellow students that the winner of the race was just the person who made it out of the forest first... And thus, the moment we were out of eye shot of the teachers, the hunger games broke out. Being a public school in a rural town, everyone was a bit rough around the edges. Rocks were thrown, kids pushed into likely snake infested bushes, the fast little kids had to sprint for their lives with the larger kids hot on their tail, not trying to beat them in a foot race but legitimately attempting to incapacitate them.
Most of us were 6.
The prize for winning was a piece of paper and a $0.30 paddlepop from the tuckshop.
They took us out of class for a whole day for this event.
They cancelled the event indefinitely after that year, I wouldn't be shocked if it was still not a thing 20 years on.
Since then I have come to the realisation that kids 6-9 can easily be motivated to commit attempted murder for the promise of a cold snack and minor praise.
😂😂😂 holy shit, that’s fantastic.
Holy fucking shit it was an all out "EVERY MAN FOR YOURSELF LADS!" moment
Alright this sounds like movie material
Hahaha this is a story for the ages 🤣
If you had any doubts this was a real Australian ps story those doubts were dashed by one word - tuckshop
My son had cross country this year. He complained for 3 days before it and about 5 weeks after it. Good times.
😂 😂 😂 😂 😂
Me and a mate walked the entire way around our school cross country course in grade 5, found a mayonnaise or tartare sauce squirty bottle around three quarters of the way through the course, just lying on the ground. Naturally, we picked it up and took it with us to the end. We lightly jogged the final stretch up a hill together so we wouldn't get in too much trouble for not trying or something, and arm in arm too so the teachers thought we were such great mates supporting each other, but little did they know the nefarious plan we had concocted in our 10- year-old minds. We crossed the line, in equal last place by at least a minute, then my mate did his best Lewis Hamilton impersonation and squirted the sauce bottle all over the waiting crowd of students and teachers who probably just wanted to get it over with by this point, just like it was a freshly fizzed bottle of champagne or some shit. What a time.
Best comment
Nice guys finished last or should I say you both cum last place.
I was a very unfit kid in Primary School, I was slow, fatter than I am now and lack endurance. My House (Red) actually used me in a strategy because of this that when I would get over lapped by the fitter kids, I'd try to block everyone as much as I could except for the runners in my own House
My biggest memory of cross country is being so slow that I was stuck with the other slowest guy in the class. We agreed to cross the finish line together and instead he bolts full pump right before the finish.
@Buzás András tiktok brain
Real shot in the dark but did that happen in Taralga? Because I did exactly that... They made my fat ass the sports captain and wanted to live up to the title even though it was by default because there was only 4 kids in year 6.
The classic cross country back stab
Mate, the exact same thing happened to me. He apologised to me afterwards but ‘sorry’ doesn’t unstupid me.
Oh hey that reminds me of a similar memory except I was the one who bolts full pump right before the finish.
During my year 4 cross country. I walked it, then halfway through sat in some bushes and played my DS. I decided I better finish. So I walked to the end and everyone was shocked and cheering. They thought I had won the year 6 cross country which had started an hour and a half later. I crossed the finish line and the principle came and said congratulations on such a fast time.
Everyone, even the principal thought you were in year 6?
You must have been big for your age
@@rollerskdude I was 10 and plenty of year 6s were 11. Not a huge difference.
@@CC-dv5eb so you were kept down 2 grades 🤣
@@bongocat401 thats not how that works. first he said 10, it would be 1 grade, and secondly a year 6 is usually 12, so a year 6 being 11 would mean they were rather young for the year, which isn't uncommon, my year 12 graduating class had a 16 yr old in it, that doesn't mean all the 18 yr olds were held back 2 years.
@@user-dx8nj7qj2g ok math teachers pet jeez I was only giving comical over exaggeration way to ruin a joke I bet your fun at party’s
My school was on a massive property with heaps of bush land that we had to run around for cross country but there was never any markers about where to go so it was basically “hey kids run around the bush for 2 hours in Australian summer, hope some of you make it back.” One yeah a kid got lost and no one, not even the teachers went looking for him, he just rocked up at the end of the day crying saying he got lost and left behind.
The what doesn't kill you makes you stronger component of education😲
I remember spite-walking the cross country because I didn't agree to be there.
I was directed to skip three quarters of the course, and still managed to keep two busloads back an extra 45 minutes while being pushed rather forcefully up the hill to the finish by the PE teacher.
I told them they'd regret making me do it.
i shoulda done that just for the pure spite of it. i just stayed home most cross countries
@@dapsychokilla i only went to 3 cross countries . both high school and primary legit just either no showed or went home
They used to tell us that they can't start the next year until everyone crosses the line so you're making everyone stay back if you don't try. I challenged that idea and got over taken by 3 year groups.
I remember having an asthma attack about 20% into one district cross country carnival, one of the teachers - instead of turning back the (obviously struggling to breathe) 10 yr old - made me complete the entire lap of the course.
I ended up in the back of an Ambulance on a nebuliser.
"Pfft, nah asthma isn't real, keep running kid"
Damn, for my school all teachers around the track at primary had puffers
My parents refused to send me to school on cross country days because of this exact reason.
@@rollerskdude I still have one.
Holy Grail of Asthmatics.
I remember being the best cross country runner in my tiny primary school and always went on to districts and got absolutely pummeled
Same bro, got to regional once and got fucked on. Came in dead last
@@GentlemansCombatives I went to regionals once and didn't know what place I was in so I didn't really try in the last 200 metres. Turns out I was 1 place off going to state
@@qazwsx6340 oof
The super athletic, academic, co curricular kid that was always really nice was literally the Captain America of the cross country, going “on your left” to every single kid
My friend back in primary school tried a technique of eating lollies before starting the race so she had more energy, she ended up coming third but threw up everywhere at the finish line
YES FINALLY! THE PROMISED PROPHECY HAS BEEN FULFILLED
@Rise of Gru 🅥 no, finally it's here!, dickhead.
Jordies not telling us if they still sell Nutri-Grain choco bars or not was the most unsatisfying part of this video.
I work at coles, checked today, my store didn't have them, granted I work at a small store, larger stores might have them as we have regular ones.
I also came here to say this. I was too poor to have them as a kid so need to know I finally made it. Also need to know about LCM Bars, Rollups and Yogos
@@guffmam6995 all 3 of those things I know we do sell, go into your local coles today and pick some up.
I got a guy I know that sells Nutri-Grain choco bars under the table ;)
@@floydy8359 it's not one of those damn coles locals is it?
They're the fucking worst, halved their stock range so they can sell $25 frozen lasagnes to fuckwits who don't realise they could literally get a proper restaurant meal for the same price.
I was involved in the cross country that was responsible for ending school sport events that left the school grounds for several years. As we lined up in age brackets several kids chucked their bags over the fence and as we ran out, scooped them up and just went home, others did pit stops at the fish n chip shop or hopped the fence out of sight of the teachers and hid by the bike shed til they saw the first runners come back. I was in under 19s so I saw the later stages of the shemozzle, including teachers coming to an agreement with the kids at the chip shop that if you already placed your order you could collect it but everyone else had to keep running.
Ah the memories of kids taking shortcuts and thinking they got away with it.
I was the fast kid who ran too fast at the start then crashed and burned with an asthma attack about 100m in.
Ah the memories of taking shortcuts and getting away with it.
@@abcdefgh1 yup. I took short cuts every year because 1)Cross Country was mandatory at the school I went to and 2) I hated it. Always made sure to finish in the bottom third and was never caught out (Apart from by a fellow pupil called James Bradley which cost me my copy of Contra on Gameboy to buy his silence)
some of us are just born sprinters, not stayers....
I have 2 memories, one more fucked up than the other
1. I was in Year 4. I had one kid exactly like Glenn tackle me and throw punches at me because he thought I stuffed his schoolbag with grass (the field was just mowed that day). Turns out it was one of his mates. There was no teacher involvement and I got no apology for it
2. I believe I was in Year 8. I was jogging along and twisted my ankle stepping on what I believed was a large rock. Looked back and turns out I tripped on the severed head of a kitten instead. Yeah that one scarred me for a while
"If I meditate, I'll be able to teleport too."
Jordan strikes me as the kind of kid who quoted the "I can win, I feel great, I CAN DO THIS" speech unironically.
And yes, the blood at the back of the throat feeling was why I LOATHED the beep test.
YOU CAN WIN YOU FEEL GREAT YOU CAN DO THIS
I miss Team4star dbz abridged 👌❤
The fact they took such a strange dub line and got three uses out of it in Abridged still blows my mind. XD
Not the beep test, I have tried so hard to forget tha- *BEEP LEVEL 4-1*
@@JeeCooked he actually said it tho 😂
That was honestly such a cute story
I remember cross country! It was a 2.5km run on some bush track in the middle of nowhere. I was always a terrible long distance runner, so my strategy was to sprint at the start and die for the rest. I got out to a commanding lead, and I'm not exaggerating. I was probably 400m in front by about halfway, and my insides felt like they were going to rupture but my strategy was working. Not long afterwards some kid passed me, then another...... then another. I was so fucked that I was running pigeon toed and I was desperately trying to hold my shit in - literally. Then it happened with the finish line in sight. I sharted and I could feel the poo nugget bouncing around my dacks. The more I pushed myself to the line more I could feel the nugget rolling around violently. I came 4th and shit myself.
Glory is forever, pants shitting is temporary
legend
@@GentlemansCombatives Tell that to Scomo
@@Quicksilver1111 he never came 4th at cross country obviously, otherwise we'd still be talking about it
That screaming grunt at the end of Nutri-Grain ads should be the Australian National Anthem
Memory unlock
As classic as the ol’ Wilhelm scream.
The Howie scream. :)
I believe that particular piece of audio is a stock sound effect and can be heard in many movies and TV productions
I want this by the Brisbane Olympics
These sporting events really just make it clear that it wasn't the education parents valued about school, it was the free daycare. I tried to stay home for every single one but was forced to go because according to dad I would 'regret missing out on the experience' later in life. It's been over 15 years and when I remember that it even happened, I relive only my boredom and frustration.
I was the kid with no cardio, I just bolted at full pace straight away…gave up 400m in and walked the rest of the way.
I resemble this comment.
same
I went to over two dozen schools in my life so I ended up doing a cross country nearly every year (one year I had to do it twice) and it always ended in tragedy. Faintings, heat stroke, broken bones and two fatal asthma attacks.
Cross country was the harbinger of death and suffering in my school years.
FATAL??
So I'm British and my secondary school did ONE cross country whilst I was there. And it ended in almost tragedy. Two kids fainted, one sprained an ankle, one fell and bumped his head, one got a nosebleed, one SNAPPED HIS DAMN FINGER on a rock and three were found smoking in the forest behind the school. All of this on a 29 degree celsius day in England (which is bloody hot to us, but not to you all) and I'm not surprised more collapsed or went away to the hospital.
29 is still annoyingly hot, just not insane. Still funny tho
From your comment I'm reminded of a time in the 1950s when the country welcomed much needed tradesmen to help rebuild the economy. The children these new arrival were noticeably unlike us.
They were shorter in stature, spindly and spoke with whiney accents that were difficult to make sense of. I guess that arriving in a strange country that while familiar was still strange and probably daunting,
presented difficult challenges to try to live with. Children being what they are and along with wearing short pants, the English kids displayed an almost translucent white skin. Many were given the name of, lily legs. That was many years ago now and recent surges of emmegration are from mainly around the Pacific Rim where lily legs are an unknown phenomenon.
@@PropheticShadeZ 29 Is unusually hot for the UK, that was probably the hottest day of the year. Saying that we are breaking heat wave records right now, its mid 30s up north and 40+ down south.
In Year 12 I wasn't interested in going to any of the classes I had when cross country was on and was already a fairly fit runner. Most of the class wanted to study and use their time productively so only 1/5 or less of the year decided to enter as it was voluntary and maybe 10 or 9 males were racing. My chances of winning some easy awards for my last year of school was pretty good. I would usually get into regional cross country but no hire. Not amazing, but I think I was a decent runner. I was the skinny fit build and had some cross country experience so this wasn't a rash assertion by any stretch. The race starts and for the duration of the first 2/3 of the race i'm just pacing myself, slowly overtaking all the other runners most of which spent their energy at the start. I felt pretty confident about my winning chances and felt great but was very cautious. Because there was one classmate called Bruce who I knew had been training and I knew had a good chance of winning as well, he was shorter than I but a lot stronger, again I was cautious. Its the final 300 meters of the race and me and Bruce are neck and neck, he tells me I should just go on ahead and sprint for the victory. So I use my last reserves of energy and use my strong legs and kick it to the finish. I'm almost there at the finish line when all of a sudden, I notice everyone watching waving at me. As I'm slowing down and slowly coming to my senses, I look around and notice the finish line was another 100 meters to the left. All of a sudden Bruce was Sprint full speed with the finish line in his sights! I bolt forward mustering everything I have in me in the hopes I can still beat him for what was a super short but intense moment! I almost overtake him, but sadly Bruce won 1st place, leaving me with the silver 2nd. I don't blame Bruce for sprinting for the win (I'd have done the same if i were in his shoes) it's my fault somewhat. I hope who ever made a poorly marked stupid sudo finish line a kick in the crotch. Thank you for reading have a good day.
jesus almost had it dude
I remember Cross-country being absolutely horrible at my tiny school.
There were only 2 kids in my Year, so each year, I, the fat kid, kept getting 2nd place and shipped off to "regionals" to run the 2nd, harder course, and coming dead last.
I think it kept happening because my family went out of our way to piss off the extra-religous hag of a Teacher at our school.
Was worth it. She once gave us shit for not bringing "proper" lunches, so my Dad sent me in with a dead pickled Python curled up in my lunchbox. Scarred her pretty well. She stopped checking after that.
Your Dad was a freaking legend !
I remember being in a teacher's car driving to the local school chess tournament with the three other nerds who only qualified because we knew the rules, not a word was said.
Come to think of it there was a real shit kid moment in that tournament where I beat some kid and he ends up going 'nah its a draw cause the pieces got all mixed up 5 turns ago' and I just went with it because I wanted to go home
I cannot imagine being an arbiter for a school chess tournament. I swear kids will trade kings and as an arbiter you have to just decide what the fuck happens next.
@@minerscale at the height of the yugioh craze too no less, some very peculiar castling manoeuvres
This must've been the same at every primary school, sounds very familiar.
Did feel big brained though knowing the rules at 10
I remember doing a cross country race. 2 kids in my class had disabilities, every able bodied kid beat them except for me who came in dead last. No worse feeling then everyone cheering you on as you cross the line last. Thanks for bringing those memories flooding back Jordies! :)
😂 😂 😂
At school, running was part of every second Wednesday's exercise programme. Lazy twenty something teachers set us off on the run, did not accompany us, instead congregated in the staff room smoked cigarettes and probably talk about the crappy life they were forced to endure while teaching kids whose likely destiny for the majority was to become prostitutes and criminals.
I remember when i did cross country in year 7, me and a couple of my friends just decided to walk the whole thing, except for the first 200m or so when you kinda have to run in order to seem like you’re putting in some effort, but we were the last race of the day so once we passed the first teacher checkpoint she asked us if we were the last ones, to which we said yes, and then told us to pick up all the cones as we went so that a teacher wouldn’t have to go back along and pick them up. The best time was in year 11 though when me and all my friends had set up a little picnic in the far corner of the field and because we were so far away from everyone else, the teachers forgot to come and tell us that it was time for our race, so none of us ended up running that day, although to be fair all of us were just going to walk it.
Ah c'mon. Surely we get a video on year 12 muck-up day
@@Chowdonut we must of went to the same school because that happened as well
So Grade 5, One of my teachers is driving me to the next town for a science nerd kid thing. She was always really caring and nice. I didn't expect her to put her foot to the floor and kick dirt as she peeled out of the schools parking lot. She was going so fast in her tiny car she didn't stop in time and drove right over a duck running on the road. She even said 'Gee I hope that they're okay' as she drives full crazy to the main road. It was roller coaster fun but also terrifying!
The key insight I had when I was a youngin doing the cross country was that. If I took a coupla wizz fizzes with me then, they would give me the boost I need midway through the race when I had eventually gassed myself (because who wouldn’t sprint at the start to make it look like you’re the gun in front of the school). Needless to say the strategy was suboptimal.
Pleeeaaaase do the SCHOOL DISCOS. Especially the Christmas disco. Jordan, PLEASE
No God Please No!!!
We getting closer to worse police stations in Australia
Nambour for the win
I remember for my school all the teachers sitting at the checkpoints had spray bottles who would spray you with water when you ran past. Something about it was slightly patronising, idk why just something about sweating my ass off and all they give us is a little spray of water which ends up feeling more uncomfortable than cooling you down. Cross country is basically national torture like I'm all for exercise and stuff but damn sports day was way more fun than this.
We did our cross country around some soccer fields that were like a street away from the school. Grade 5 and 6 had to run a different course which was basically the main course but with an extended part to make it longer and we had to run the course twice. I remember in grade 6 I had a chest infection and near the end of my first lap around the course one of the teachers at the checkpoint felt so bad for me they made me sit down for like 20 minutes. Then after that they told me to just finish the lap and don't do the second one. Made me feel real bad but also I can't really complain cause I didn't want to do it anyway.
Me and my best friend in our primary school cross country would wear our shoes on the opposite feet as we thought it squished our foot muscles out into our legs and made us run better
😂😂😂😂😂
As someone who usually did well in the cross country, the start of the race was always such a temptation as to whether or not I join the 10 idiots sprinting the first 100m or not. Peer pressure usually won in the end 🤣
I remember going over my bikes handlebars before year 10 cross country, they still made me run
Did you shatter your face?
@@amywalsh2001 nah lost a bit of skin on my legs and hands. That was fun when i started sweating, lemme tell you
I am glad Glenn is now part of the friendlyjordies' cinematic universe
I remember getting a loud 'Oi' yelled at me from a teacher during year 7 cross-country for reading a Harris Scarfe junk mail leaflet I found on the route (passed along houses); it had lingerie models in it, which for 13-year-old me was the best thing ever.
I finished 3rd at a cross country once and was moderately proud of myself, but when it came time to hand out the medals they gave the 3rd place medal to the kid that finished 4th.
Still a bit pissed off about it...
My cross country involved us running around a soccer oval for 6 or so laps. To keep track of # of laps, each lap, you would grab a paddle pop stick from a teacher at the start/finish line
I would grab 2 sticks each lap from different teachers without them seeing. I won cross country by miles and progressed to the next stage, where other school kids would compete
At that stage, I could not cheat. Needless to say, I lost the race by country miles. But I did get the day off school
"We're like Daria and Jane."
"No, you're Patty and Selma."
Holy shit, that's the perfect way to describe people like that.
The moment Jordies has B roll footage of him looking at a coles shelf you just know he's hit his production value glass ceiling.
*THE LEGEND IS HERE. THE GREATEST END TO OUR TRILOGY.*
The only cross country I remember was the one where Daniel punched Brett in the face and broke his nose, the minute we were all out of sight from the teachers. We were all trying to figure out the logistics of the punch as Daniel was 4foot tall and Brett was 6foot. There was a jump involved possibly a double jump.
I'm not a teacher, but when I was in kindy, we were given safety scissors and then told specifically how to protect ourselves, use them safely etc etc. I cut my fingers open three minutes later using them to slash at a plastic bag. I was excelling from an early age. Doing the undoable.
Year 10. Had bought a pair of TNs a few weeks earlier. Track was muddy, and about 10 or less seconds in, a shoe got stuck in the mud and came clean off (the pair I bought was about half a size too big). I remember being too pissed to run and just walking listening to alice in chains “dirt” on shuffle and only running (the term running used loosely) towards the end to impress everyone. I finished about a second after my mate Zac in the 15 year boys group, who passed me towards the end and came 3rd. I came 24th out of the 16 year boys group and I still remember zac saying through heavy breaths “I’m making it to District this year!” As I walked back to the gazebos where all the boys sat
In year 7 my class had a week camp away up in the Sunshine coast (I live in Brisbane). My mum couldn't afford to pay for the camp fees so I wasn't going to go. My parents had separated so when my dad who I didn't live with found out I couldn't go, he felt bad for me and paid for the camping trip. He arranged for my principal to drive me all the way to camp on the sunny coast by myself. To this day I will never forget the awkward conversation and silence as we drove for an hour and a half to camp. Arriving to camp days late with my principal made me very popular with my classmates 😂
...and then we had outward bound school camping. Highlights one kid got attacked by an ore from the next boat across from us (kid defended himself with his ore like a champ, full maritime martial arts). Same attacker kept getting hit in the back of the head by his best mate rowing behind him...might explain after repeated brain injury why he then attacked another boat. The kid later sitting on a suitcase calling the teachers bluff about being sent home and seeing his face change from smug to despair as the 4WD rocked up through the bush to collect him. Great times 10 out of 10, would relive that moment just to watch it all again.
Cross country was a big deal in our school years 3-6. I was quite asthmatic so my memory was finishing 9th every year and running straight past the finish line to the school nurse who was waiting for me with my ventolin puffer.
In high school we had a sport day every week. You signed up for different sports and everyone took a bus and a teacher would run it for you. I don't remember what sport it was but I missed the bus, was walking around trying to work out what to do when I see the teacher in charge, the agriculture teacher. Let him know and he's like "Righto Rico get in the ute you can come with me"
He then stops just up the road from where we were supposed to go on a hot summer day and spends I swear about 15 minutes talking to the owner of one of those places that sells like... dirt and woodchips? Meanwhile at the oval that I can just barely see from his extremely hot ute are about 30 unsupervised teenagers wondering how much more shit they could get away with until a teacher materialises from the aether.
10/10 would've picked that sport again.
I had completely forgotten about primary school sports carnivals until you chose to remind me of them and force my memory. Damn you Friendlyjordies.
Year 12 Japanese HSC Speaking Exam practice - my teacher drove me and the three other students in my class (yep there were a grand total of 4 of us) to the Sydney CBD for a day of practice speaking tests. When we got back to her car, which she’d parked in a Darling Harbour complex, she was horrified that parking their would cost her $67. I still remember us offering to give her money 😭
as soon as I saw this vid I had memories of never losing a cross country at school from years 5-7.
once I got to highschool though everyone else started growing and I couldnt compete
Cover School Fetes day next! It's one of the rare occasions where you see most of your school who aren't your friends and their families in a casual setting.
I had to do cross country in Cairns.
In summer.
To the shock of nobody, I got heatstroke and passed out
As someone who grew up in Cairns, I feel your pain XD
They used to send each year level around the track one after the other, so when I was in year 9, a mate and I ducked down amongst the year 7 group until we were out of sight, proceeded to run the rest of the way like normal, teachers were blown away by our time when we got back (assuming we'd left with the rest of the year 9s), got asked to go to zone but said I wasn't interested 😂
Best cross country memory was when my kids participated. The principal was commentating the event, and said that they were going round the outside, then broke into singing Eminem. “Two trailer park girls go round the outside....” Kids didn’t appreciate it, but the parents did.
School cross country... Memories honestly. Looking back on it now, the year 1 cross country course at my school was just a 150m piss take done in a minute. Then by year 4 it was a lap around the perimeter of the school which turned into 2 laps around it and a lap of the seniors oval by year 7. Back then this was possible because my primary school was surrounded by paddocks and bushland with a giant hill along the back fenceline which we all dubbed it as 'Killer Hill' cause everyone was fucked after climbing the fucking thing. I don't even think that exists anymore cause in the decade since I've left, half of the area around the school has been turned into housing development or a brand spanking new drop off zone so the little bastards there these days can count themselves very lucky cause in my day cross country was life or death
Then in highschool the rules were very different. We had a choice whether to do it or not which was fine cause the course was off school grounds in a park located in a somewhat shady neighbourhood. Moajority of people who did that were all the sports academy students so full of themselves because they were hand picked in year 8 to play those sports while the rest of us opted to just stay back at school. We still didn't end up getting out of it though because the school had this 'fun run' concept where all we did for a whole hour was run laps around the school ovals instead with each form class' teacher sitting around the perimeter with a roll list of each of their allocated students just marking down the amount of times we each ran past. You'd have the athletic but not 'specially gifted enough to play in the sports academy' students do around 5-6 laps, the average students try but only manage 3-4 laps which consisted of the brainiacs and nerds who genuinely tried then theres the lazy students that eventually turned into sluts and druggos just do 1-2 laps, complain the whole time doing a light walk then spend 40 minutes sitting with their friends gossiping or having a chat with the teachers
We had a similar hill at school aptly named “heartbreak hill” for both its steep incline and for all the people who asked someone out there and got rejected lmao
AHHH the old cross country. A day where 90% of the school see it as a day off from class. The other 10% fighting to be the fasted kids in their year. And getting upset that the same kid once again beat them :P
You wanna hear a really awkward interaction? My high school drama teacher gave an open invitation to the class to attend a stage play and I was the only kid to show up. Arrived at her house to carpool into the city and her husband had to entertain for 15 min before she got home. All-in-all it was a good play and a fun night!
year 12, HSC. my school gave me the wrong address for my last exam. one of the teachers had to drive out and collect me and drop me off at the right place. And then once I had finished the exam I was stranded at a different school as my school didn't contact my parents to let them know.
no phoned in bomb threats from students?
@@vincere_ lmao no
Funny story about one of my cross country's. I have asthma, the medication for asthma is basically distilled steroids. My homunculus brain correlated the two and perceived it as a good thing .I noticed that whenever I took a *puff* I could run a bit longer, continued to do this throughout the race. I was the kid panting in the other dimension as my body broke its astral chains. Despite being a fat kid I ended up in 8th place out of the entire school of around 350 kids. Once I realized what had happened I decided to sit out of the next primary school cross country and just help the teachers because while being an asthmatic in a long distance run isn't that bad when you properly dose your medication, I'd rather not pull a Lance Armstrong and lose my left testicle at the age of 11. (Just finished the video and yes my throat felt like a liquid rust slurry when I finished)
Our cross country was 5km run thru bushland near the Murray river. A week before the river flooded,we were made run thru a billabong ,up to our waste in mud ,Many kids injured due to barb wire fence hidden under water. One kid broke his arm another a dislocated knee and two ambos were called. No water bottles in those days either , running in 36 degree heat .Most of that flood plain now has housing on it.
In year 7 we once fit all 11 players of our school cricket team in our teachers old Holden wagon, to get to and from the game.
Wtf
Jordan is doing the classic high school student trick of complaining about how hot it is but refusing to rake off the jacket
Mate as soon as I heard the title I had flashbacks to when I was actually 10 doing my first cross country and nearly dying 40 m from the finish line to a stitch.
Why is this so fucking accurate?!?!?
the satisfaction of coming first then going to zone and getting immediately outrun by 30 kids in the first minute
I remember year 7 cross country, I never actually crossed the finish line. But about 2 years later I found the exact spot where the finish line was just walking about town, and I finally crossed it. It took me 2 years to finish it, that has to be a world record
Good, now bring back Aussie Courts next!
aaah. The end to the trilogy. This is by far the best one out of the three.
Cross country was always the worst day of the year for me.
I have tibial torsions in each leg, meaning literally my bones are twisted so my knees, hips, and feet don’t align properly, which makes running hard.
I also have a genetic disease called hypohydrotic ectodermaldysplasia, which basically means I don’t sweat.
My friends would always say they weren’t interesting in actually running and we’d all stick together, but they’d always abandon me about 1/3 of the way through. I also have severe anxiety, so I’d get super scared about being alone (because I was always last so it’s not like anyone was going to catch up to me and I wouldn’t be alone anymore).
So not only was I struggling to run and overheating, but also having to fight off a panic attack.
Great memories 🙃
we've all been that kid experiencing a space odyssey
Not a teacher, but I was working in a school (schools have started outsourcing internal sport to small coaching companies instead of casual PE teachers) I was setting up a soccer drill on a particularly windy school oval, my contact lens fell out onto my finger. I cleaned it and went to put it back in my eye, and a small child (probably a Glenn) ran over and blew it off my finger. Made the kid run laps till he cried and got thanked by his mother after he told her
Cross country every year at my school. Because ours was done partly outside the school, me and my buddies managed to find a spot they didn't have line of sight and didn't patrol, and just bailed on it to go to a nearby fish and chip shop for the afternoon. Worth the detention every year.
I remember my cross country, Ruffey Lake park in Doncaster, maybe 93-94? Anyway me and a mate had stashed a backpack with a bong and a mix in a gully not far off the circuit we were supposed to run, we got a couple of Kms under our belts then got a couple of bongs into us! came in last 😂 the rest of the run was laughs a plenty. good times.
Silly Jordan Lithgows Postcode is 2790.
When are we going to hold Political Journalists accountable for their factually incorrect but otherwise meaningless mistakes?
Being in a car with a teacher, try being in a car with a Principle.
Ah yes i remember the old metallic blood taste of slowly dying as a child from excessive running, what a memory.
I remember our course went slightly off-campus into the surrounding burbs. A bunch of us found a massive shortcut in-between the checkpoints. So we just chilled there for a while then rejoined the course to make the timing seem believable (we were not athletic at all).
1994: Year 4 cross country, they had us do staggered starts between the girls and the boys - girls first.
Caught up to my crush, Kimberly, and I of course had to blow past her in the most exaggerated way, huffing and puffing to indicate excellence and get her to simply look at me (please look at me, you goddess).
2022: I realise I'm Glenn. FFS.
Thanks Jordies.
I did cross country from years 5-12, did after school training in a private school twice a week with Saturday sports. I would get 5-6th in year 5 against year 6's in 3km and then in year 6, I would win every race for my school in 3km. Highschool, I would get 15-26th depending on place and schools so I was running anywhere from 6-9km. In the changeover school, I would do personal training and still ran getting 6th in my final race in year 12. Here is my tip on doing well in cross country: Do running training if your school has one or else run 3km lap in your park and make sure you mark time every session so you can keep track of your speed and eventually your fitness levels, Eat carbohydrates like pasta or other alternatives the night before the race, wear a track suit of your school or your own to keep warm in winter and wear light shorts/singlet/light running shoes, walk the course well before the race so you can familiarise the course which all school hosts should do in a large group, warm up and stretch before the race and stay well hydrated, during the start of the run, stay in the middle or in the pack group, advance if you can or stay behind the top 5, sprint in last 100-50 meters to the final line as it will catch a lot of runners off guard and you could sneak a couple of places. Good luck whomever reads this as I did do this from 2003-2010.
This was from year 9, we would run around the school field and, because the head PE teacher thought it would be fun, all the other teachers would throw dyed cornflour at us. My Hums teacher chasing me with orange dust is still in my memory and remember picking my ear to find purple covering my finger.
I remember in PE in High school for the 2 weeks before the cross country
our teacher made us train for it and because i didn't wear shorts the PE teacher
wanted me to write lines instead.
I told the teacher i could run in my pants and jumper no prob and he laughed
his head off.
I laughed my head off when i came 3rd behind the 2 most athletic students we
had in our school at the time after completing the same coarse as all the others.
I'll never forget it. Couldn't do it no, my old ankles just wont let me run far at all. lol.
Regional areas of the country also had a district school sports day where groups of schools would compete against each other. There is also the Golden Circle fund runs. We need videos for those now.
The "Cross country" at my school was a slightly wacky run around the oval. There was a slight incline on one end and a single tree about halfway up it so we just had to run around that. It wasn't a proper event either nor was there a prize, it was just some spontaneous thing the teachers would decide to do first thing in the morning to make everyone throw up because they just had breakfast. Once there was a week where we had to do it every day, always first thing in the morning. Sucked big time
Technically still running cross country to this day because in grade 12, they packed up the finish line before I finished the race. I got to the final stretch and saw that they were giving out the ribbons and stuff so I continued the course towards the finish line and some teacher roused on me and told me sit down. I'm cursed to occasionally remember that fact, and ruins my day every time.
I once got driven back to school by in the principals car because I had a heatstroke at PSSA. She hated me so much, I got a real kick out of lathering the dying leather seats in her clapped out Mercedes E class in 11 year old sweat.
my childhood best friend is known in school for her nic addiction. nobody smokes and vapes more than this girl. girl downs around 50 vapes a year or more even. lungs like a chimney. in year 12 she decided to try cross county for the last time (optional for seniors in hs) because she was like “fuxk it why not it’s my last year i’m just gonna try”. and other than a little bit of training running around the local park, she had no pro experience. this girl came first in school, went to zone AND CAME FIRST IN ZONE. AND MADE IT TO STATE. nobody knows how in gods glory any of this was possible when lung cancer is breathing down her spine.
I so badly wanted to do cross country but the teacher coordinating it that year had it out for me and told me and my mum I wasn’t up to it even though I did all the training without issue and at the same level as the kids who were allowed to go. I’d forgotten how shitty I was about it til now. Thanks, unfriendlyjordies.
Seen that man commenting for ages, finally some justice
Fun fact: During my high school years my aviation teacher wanted to take the class on a trip to the airport, but no bus was available so we played "People smuggler" using my reputation as the good kid throughout the town to avoid suspicion. I discovered that country airports are not nearly as interesting or secure as city airports, and the local glider club tow aircraft had the rather apt registration of "VH-TUG"
track and field they pick the worst week every year after a nice rain. green standing water on the track(AKA a spot the local drunk mowed and rutted up with a big ass lawn mower with tire chains) , but some how its hot sunny and humid and you get 1 FREEZE after.
My memory is causing my bronchial tubes to bleed in year 9. I never exercised, didn't play sport, most of my time on my laptop playing red alert, 150 kids, co-ed, If I had to do this stupid race I was going to do it well, finishing 6th ahead of more than half the jocks that we're trying, but nearly killed myself.
Yes, jordies had bleeding lungs too wasn't just me ! #lifejustified
Not exactly a cross country story but a reflection of the view of the time "just get on with it". I went to a all boys Sydney high school 35 plus years ago. One day (Year 11) we went on a day trip and at the last stop north of Sydney we were all told to be back on the bus by about midday from memory to drive back to Sydney. In due course all bar two got on the bus and we headed off back to School at the designated time, the teacher did not notice the missing two. When we pointed out (after driving for about 10 minutes) to the teacher that we were two short he had no sympathy they were told when to be back and we continued back to school, yes they were left behind. After the initial shock a few of the nice folk on the bus figured the least they could do was rifle through their bags which were left on the bus for anything of value, lots of empathy on that bus. The two stragglers did complete their surprise cross country event and get back to Sydney, eventually (no mobiles in those days). The teacher was not sacked but there were lots of meetings the next day. To this day I turn up to everything on time, usually early, ahhh the formative years.
As one of the kids with the longest legs, I can confirm the long legs theory coming second in year 6 and first in year 7 with no effort put into training
Ahahaha aight I've got a cross country story....
Year 5 and I was in a group of friends at the time, one chick pulls out a puffer whilst running ahead and does this dramatic fall dropping the puffer and pretending like she was going to pass out, we run and grab the puffer for her but it's "too late" (we didn't realise being kids at the time but anyway) we rushed her back to school in arms and all holding her for us to find out later on hours later near the end of the day after it had all finished she was faking it and it was a puffer that had her brothers name on the puffer/ prescription everything and she was fine 🙃