Jonty Scott, 11, of Lime Hills School, dashes through a waterway.
Pupils run in the 10-year-old girls race.
Pupils in the 11-year-old boys race power through the Southland Primary Schools Cross Country Championships course, at Waimumu field day grounds, yesterday.
Warmly wrapped parents and supporters watch the runners in action.
Cody Scott, 13, of St Thomas Aquinas School, in Winton, approaches the end of his race.
Craig Iversen, 12, of James Hargest makes a splash.
It may have been cold and conditions slippery underfoot, but the Southland Primary School Cross Country Championships were never going to be cancelled yesterday. It is a winter sport after all.
About 500 school children from 16 different zones all over Southland lined up in the event at the Waimumu field day grounds, near Gore.
The race was over both flat and hilly ground and then through some forest and the odd waterway before ending under cover in the field day agricultural sheds.
It did not rain much yesterday but conditions were damp after some heavy rain in previous days.
ODT photographer Peter McIntosh also braved the elements.
