Annual Shiplake cross country races are a staple of the sporting calendar, encouraging the whole College community to get involved. For Year 10 pupil Tom Nike, this is no hardship. An avid runner, Tom often impresses at the races, posting inspiring finishing times. In the most recent inter-house cross country event, Tom finished first of the juniors, achieving the fastest time overall by nine seconds! He has now taken his passion for the sport outside the school walls, and runs regularly for Reading Athletics Club.
This season, Tom has been part of Reading Athletic Club’s team at Hampshire League fixtures, and recently raced in the Southern Counties Cross Country Championships. At the Berkshire County Cross Country Championships, the team of which Tom was a part won a silver medal. Following this success, Tom was appointed as the reserve athlete for the Berkshire Country Nationals Team, joining an elite team of committed athletes.
And Tom did not stop there; most recently, he was thrilled to be representing Shiplake College at the Oxfordshire Schools Cross Country Championships. Proudly sporting an Orchard House green vest, Tom raced around the wildly windy grounds of Radley College. He finished the 5.8km course in a superb ninth position, despite being up against runners from Year 11. Tom only just missed out on team selection for the Oxfordshire Schools Nationals team. However, he assumes the position of reserve athlete, and is as driven as ever to gain a place on the team. Gaining recognition with fast race times and real engagement with the sport, Tom impressed spectators and fellow runners alike during the race.
Director of Sport Mr James Gaunt commented that ‘this level of hard work and dedication to running is highly impressive. Tom has a lot of promise; his finishing times in College events are astonishing and, at such a young age, to be gaining recognition nationally is just brilliant. Well done Tom!’
Come rain or shine, Tom is on the race track, ever determined to better his previous time around a track and achieve a personal best. We look forward to seeing what challenge Tom will take on next, and wish him the very best of luck with his sporting endeavours!