Creative Writing: The Big Red Oval

I go to the grass by where we will line up for the race and I put my spikes on. Making sure every spike is tight; I double knot the laces and stand up. Now my stomach really hurts. The nerves of a runner before a race are one of the worst things to handle. The announcer puts me in line and I take a deep breath once it’s my time to go up to the blocks. I set up my blocks for my standards and take off my sweats. The breeze hits my thighs as my tank top flows from side to side. The sun wishes me good luck just before I start my race. I slightly shake as the announcer tells us, “Runners to your mark!” and I get down. Shaking more vigorously now, my heart is pounding in my chest. It seems like hours waiting for him to yell, “Get set!” “Go!” but once he does I know it’s go time. I push off my blocks, and I run as fast as I can. I can feel my legs moving together in motion as the balls of my feet dig into the track. My spikes are doing their job in helping me grip to the surface as I make my way to the finish line. Neck and neck with the girl next to me I hope she gets winded out near the end and slows down so I can just scarcely make it past her. I feel like I am running as fast as a horse. Crossing that finish line and coming to a slow stop, I breathe heavily as I exhale in relief of being over. I did it, I’m done… and I did well. My legs raw, I get off the track. (AB) Some fellow sprinters congratulate me as I do the same to them. That is what’s nice about track, it seems like most of the people are very friendly. They have no problem congratulating you or talking to you about how nervous they are before a race. We know we are all in the same boat and all we want is to succeed. Every blue moon a distance runner will congratulate a sprinter but I don’t think it has ever happened to me. I don’t know if they are just caught up in their own world or if they are just being stingy about the whole

Greater lawrence, pass him, Sprint. So i finish on the floor dying couldn’t breath properly so i deep breaths and needed water my mouth was dry. After the race was over needed time to process like what happen in the beginning i knew we’re going to face greater lowell next week needed to be prepared for the time being. I needed to fix on my start so i don’t have to be the hero. I need to work on is my breathing it didn’t go so well and how to keep a pace with someone so i won’t lose the guy and cost the team some points if i do that well i’m gold. I needed to workout my legs so they won’t hurt during in races. The most important i have to do is keep my body calm and mind during the race next week. I knew in my next race it’s not all about having speed and it was mostly having a good mentality. So i work on a one week later race against greater lowell again i have done better which i did before at least i had the knowledge of the course to back that up it was a great

Before I started up again, I thought to myself “Just keep swimming” as Dory said in the movies Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. Hearing the loud screams from the crowd made me hop to my feet and continued on with the rest of the race. I started half jogging, half limping, across the track, by the time I finished everyone has finished except me. The crowd was packing up as after Isaiah finished.

My feet pounded on the uneven ground, each step increasingly difficult. My breath was loud, uneven to my ears. I could see the girl in front of me, her brightly colored uniform becoming smaller as she pulled ahead. It was now or never; if I did not surge now, there was no chance of making it. I took a deep breath and increased my pace, running harder than I ever had before. But it wasn’t enough. I crossed the finish line, grabbing a tree as I struggled to stand, and look at the timer. With a time of 21:42 for the girls varsity 5k race, I knew I had missed my goal, and my season was over.

I have trained myself to prepare for this exact moment in time. Every mile that I have continuously pushed myself through, every steep incline as my thighs and calves have trembled that I have climbed, every sharp twist of pain that curved up my entire being that I have conquered, they have all made me into the person I am as I stand behind our first line of top runners. A nervous adrenaline is spiking my pulse as we wait in formation—staggered with a person to fill every space—and the raucous cheering from almost every single person lining the Southside course is causing a puddle of anticipated excitement to drip down my spine. I have come so far from

Once we arrived at the meet, we immediately started to unload the water coolers and snacks and started to stretch in order to get loose in preparation for our upcoming rigorous 3.3 mile run. Every muscle in my body was so tight I was surprised I was still able to walk. While stretching, I glanced over my shoulder towards the other runners. Their muscles incredibly popped off of their bodies as those of the incredible hulk. You could tell they were prepared to run and win. This image pounded in my head over and over again, making me think that I was in no shape to compete against them. I started to get

Anticipating my venture into literal foreign terrain, I was being blissfully ignorant to how “off course” long distance training and racing operated. Prior to finally sealing my agreement to join the Cross Country team, I’ve participated in Middle School Track and Freshmen Soccer team programs. With experience, I felt empowered to take on athletics on a serious level. Profuse amount of runners were naturally gifted with ability or had athleticism hardwired into the mechanics of

After we were assigned our lanes, I counted my steps off and then started my normal warm up routine; two tuck jumps, shake and loosen the muscles in my right leg, then my left leg, and then a shoulder roll. I inhaled deeply, held it for a moment, and stared at the sky. It was a cold and rainy day, not an ideal day to be competing, but I was glad I even got the opportunity. I exhaled slowly, trying to calm my nerves. I knew how critical it was that our handoffs were perfect, especially in a race like this one. As I placed my feet on their marks and got in the right position, I waited to hear the gun go

Exhaustion was getting to me and made me want to give up. My legs felt like jelly, and I did not think I could keep going. Hearing the crowd cheer gave me the courage to finish the race. I could see someone getting really close behind me, so with all of my strength left, I took off on a sprint.

Now, it was time for the race I was most excited for, the 4x400. It was the same distance as my previous run, but our relay had a shot of winning the title of first. We all got in the infield and practiced our handoffs. They had to perfect, seamless and quick. The difference between a good and bad handoff could cost us first place. Our event was last, so we cheered on our team as they completed theirs. Looking at the scoreboard so far, we knew there was no chance we could come back and win with only the few events we had left. That didn’t matter though, because we had to show we don’t give up and do what we

At Lake Country Lutheran my teammates sparked my interest in running. Even though most teammates may be looking in improvement on themselves during a race, ultimately in my experience, my teammates have helped me grow through their motivation. Moments before the official pulls the trigger to start the race, my 4x800 meter relay teammates tremble with fear. Even our encouraging words do not seem to conceal our nervousness. The only aspect that comforts me is that I know I am not alone. My upperclassmen and fellow lowerclassmen teammates all have one goal in mind: to win first place. Although many of the runners are sharing the same feeling of unease, ultimately the race begins we trust one another that we will do our best. That day we met our

Im standing in line waiting my turn to race. I am at the university of tennessee about to race the 200M freestyle against 50 of the top kids in the entire southeast. I'm nervous but excited I am prepared but worried and I am thinking of everything that could go wrong but I keep my focus. I have to it's too late to go back now. Finally it's my turn I step up on the block and I get ready, the siren sounds I jump of the block into the water I try to remember everything my coach taught me in practice everything that got me to this point. I make the first turn I am in the middle of the pack making sure to pace myself turn 2 into turn 3 I am now headed down the home stretch putting everything I have into this last stretch and it pays off 3rd place and 20th place out of 50.

If you are planning on doing track I will give you a headstart on it. When you are doing a race think about what is ahead of you. You should always look ahead because if you go in the wrong lane you probably will be disqualified. You should run at a medium pace unless you are running a short distance. Also, run full speed at the end and hard because the win could be by a finger. Never try to pass a person by running faster than your normal speed, unless you are close the end or you are doing a 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash or 400 meter dash. You should just run normally because if you run fast you will soon be tired.

With the sun beating against my back, I ran through the narrow path, my breaths heavy and jagged. This was my first time running an obstacle course, and the different stations, from rope climbing to log jumping, had left me exhausted. My squad members had started to notice me struggling, but instead of running past me, they started to shout encouragements and cheer me on. Although I was drained of energy when I reached the finish line, I was overflowing with appreciation. My squad members, whom I met just four days before, had all teamed up to support me.

A hush fell over the crowd and all eyes were on me. At that point there was no room for error, it was all or nothing. I was ready, I took a breath and went for it, unfortunately five seconds later I had met my match, the ground. I must admit I am not the most coordinated, but do not fret because occurrences such as these happen all the time: track meets, cheer competitions, flat ground. I have a lot of experience with track meets and cheer competitions, and over the years I have noticed an absurd amount of differences and similarities, the most greatest similarity being; if you put in the work, success will follow. I work to be the best all season by running, eating healthy, and pushing myself. Pushing myself towards first place to be exact. I train all season to go to that final competition or final meet to seize the trophy, and take home the title. Now whether or not that actually happens is a whole other story.