Cross Country Race Narrative

Feeling exhausted, I focus on my breathing. I breath in through my nose and then out through my mouth, breath in and out. Repeat. After passing the mile mark, my coach is shrieking for me to relax, because I am on my way to qualify for cross country states. The top twenty girls qualify, and I have been dreaming of this day since freshman year. All I have to do is hold my position, and then I am golden. Suddenly, my legs begin to feel like jello. My running partner slowly fades ahead of me, and I cannot keep up. It feels like I am running backwards as the rest of my teammates pass me one by one. Fighting fatigue, I tell myself I am finishing this race, whether or not I have to crawl like a turtle to do so. I am crossing that finish line.

When I first joined cross country I was not fast nor a runner. I was one of the slowest people on the team, but I wanted to get faster and I was determined to improve. Some days we would do a hills workout and I would get to the top of the longest hill and think, “I could just run back to Armstrong right now and be done”. But then, I thought about how if I did another hill, I would get better and some time during a race when there was a big hill I would look at it like it’s nothing. I could go up the hill easily and pass a couple girls. So I would do another hill. Then the next time we did hills I rememberd how many I did the last time and pushed myself to do one more. Through that cross country showed me that I could be faster and tougher than I thought I was if I put in the effort and want it

Every weekday during the summer before my senior year, while most kids my age were sleeping in, I awoke and began the five mile bike ride to school. Upon arrival, I jumped straight into a warm-up and then some cruel workout my coach thought up. Then, with lactic acid in my legs and sweat soaking my shirt, I began home. A routine that would repeat itself until school started. During the second day back, I recognized a friend who I had not seen since middle school track. He told me he had joined the cross country team and joked about how eager he was to race me. I wonder if he realizes how tough this sport is, I thought to myself. Nevertheless, I appreciate friendly competition and was looking forward to our race.

I ran back up the hill to our camp, trying to move quickly without wasting too much energy, took my inhaler, and rushed back down the hill. Soon, it was time for the race to start. The officials gave an overview of information about the race and how it would start. The official behind us blew a long whistle. We stood, motionless, just waiting for that starting gunshot. Pow! The race was off. I sprinted out of the pack. I tried to find a good pace and settle in. We ran up a few hills, and then we made it to the first entrance to the creek. Unintelligently, I didn’t slow down very much going into the creek. Because I didn’t slow down, I splashed into the creek with a belly flop, almost submerging my whole body underwater. I got up quickly, then began to climb up the mud wall. I clawed at that wall like it was my enemy. I avoided the rope, even though it actually wasn’t that busy at the moment. I was too focused to switch strategies. We continued to run on, passing many fans, their cheers a chaotic blur. We passed through the second part of the creek, which was not nearly as deep. It was only about mid-shin to knee level, so I made my way through just fine. We ran all over the vineyard. I wasn’t feeling too awful. I was just caught up in the thrill of the race! We made it to the cornfields, and there were lots of small hills. I ran through them staring at the ground, and I kept seeing the same pair of shoes. For some strange reason, I kept staring at those shoes. People do crazy things when they run, you could say! Anyways, I passed the person wearing those shoes. We ran away from the corn fields and under a bridge. I was coming closer and closer to the finish. I was struggling to continue, but I would not quit! I pushed through the pain, but by the end of the race, I was just done. I saw the final hill in front of me. It was one of the biggest hills on the course, if not the biggest, and it was definitely the most difficult after

I ran as fast as I could, I was tired but knew that I had to keep going. The sun shone down ferociously making it very bright and torrid. I felt sweat drip from just above my brow into my right eye. My eye began to get a burning sensation just as I turned the corner. My muscles ached, but I knew I had to shift into overdrive and pick up the pace. I started to run faster and faster. I began to get the feeling like I was about to throw up, but knew that I couldn’t stop now. I continued to sprint to the finish, and just as I crossed the finish line I looked to the clock and noticed that I set a new PR. The feeling of happiness that swelled up inside me took me back to the practice on the tuesday of the previous week: That day it was hot as fire

Last year when I won the Highland Conference in Cross Country, is when I really started to like running. I remember the first meet of the season. I had been running a lot, like 35 miles per week a lot, I was feeling very ready and just felt like I had the advantage on everyone else. I was in such good shape that the two miles you run in an actual meet felt like nothing compared to how much I had been running on my own so at that first meet I kind of surprised myself. I took off a lot faster than everyone else it seemed. I kept a much faster pace than most and just kind of kept it that way. The meet was at Manton, so half way through the race I remembered Manton’s cross country course is known for the signature obstacle, the mudpit. When I got

Last year I started a new sport, cross country. I only did it because my lacrosse coach said that it might help me get better for lacrosse. So I went to the first late summer practice last year to see what this was like, so then we did warm-ups and a lap around the track. Then it was the first time I met coach Chase, My first impression of him was going to be very strict, But soon realized that this was false because of one of the first things he said. He said “I know there are a lot of nerves here right now, but cross country isn’t about winning every race, that comes later” then continued with “Cross country is about showing what you can do to yourself.” This struck me very hard because I was not that fast and was near the back. Through that fall the team did very well, I also made some progress myself. After the season was over I made a decision.

When times get tough, don’t give up. If you want to be the best you can be you don’t have a choice but to push your limits and try. As these words of encouragement have made me become who I am, cross country has shaped me into the person I am today.

Throughout the active school year, I take part in cross country, track and basketball. I also played volleyball for a year, but I decided to concentrate on my main passion, cross country, instead of dividing my time and attention into two sports at the same time. I have been running cross country ever since I was old enough to run in the munchkin races. The sport has been passed down through the family, almost every single one of my siblings have run or at least tried it. In track, I have ran the mile and two mile since the seventh grade. These last couple years I joined into the long distance relays. In 2016, the first year we decided to start a relay it consisted of my sister, Victoria, Tristen Ness, and Sammy Swanson. The first time we ran

I am a runner. One who strives for greatness at every moment and doesn’t give in when things get tough. I have aspirations, dreams, and goals which I will stop at nothing to achieve. Unfortunately for me, the life of a runner is filled with challenges and setbacks and only the best will learn to push through the adversity. My defining moment was the summer before my Junior year, 2016. I had set the goal of becoming All-State in Cross Country, meaning placing in the top 25 of all the runners in the state meet. This is, of course, a prestigious title to have, but I had faith in myself. For the first time in my life, I finally understood that preparation is key and if I fail to prepare, I should prepare to fail

Both Ryan, a freshman who is smart and tries to stay positive, and Riley, another freshman who always does stuff before he thinks, were walking home from Pacifica high school when they heard Sawyer calling their names. He was also a freshman at pacifica, but always thinks logically and like the other two he was on the cross-country team. "I heard something when I walked by the abandoned school," he said nervously. When they went to look at what was going on they both heard and could see nothing.

Over the course of my high school cross country career, I have made it to state twice and onto varsity my sophomore, junior, and senior year. But those successes did not happen overnight. Sore muscles, blistered feet, and gruesome practices were just a few of the obstacles that challenged me. Furthermore, our team was known

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.

It was freezing cold out, and the coach had made the call that there was still going to be running today. Some of the runners on the cross-country team were relieved to hear this news, but I was frustrated with this weather. “Is there any way I can just run farther tomorrow? We’ve already had to run three to five miles each day for the past week,” I commented. “I know it’s tough running in this heat Michael, but it builds endurance and stamina,” coach replied. “You need to push through the heat in order to perform well.” Coach had been making us do mile repeats to prepare us for the next meet, but I was already feeling discouraged about the upcoming meet from my last performance. My goal was to make varsity before the end of the season, which

I jogged over to my bag, and as I grabbed my spikes, I heard many of my teammates shout, “Good luck, Haley! You’ve got this!”. I nodded my head and muttered a “Thanks guys” as I quickly took off to go check in. Anxiety was already beginning to fill my stomach. I could feel the tingly sensation that some people called “butterflies” beginning to form. The feeling sunk in my stomach and remained their uncomfortably. “Alright, calm down. I still have 25 minutes till race time”, I thought to myself. Some nerves were good, but the anxiety part was just unnecessary. As I got to the check-in tent, I gave them my name, and returned to the middle of the football field where countless other hurdlers were starting to warm up. I knew who most of my competitors in my heat were going to be. To my left, I could spy a short and skinny girl with long, brown curly hair, a red uniform, and bright blue spikes who was most likely the fastest girl in the race. She was seeded 3rd in state and had been hurdling for years. However, instead of being focused on the competitors, I was focused on hitting the qualifying time that I had been aiming at the whole season. This aspect of the race brought a slight breath of fresh, soothing air to my lungs because it meant the race was in my control and was something I could dictate. I began to set up hurdles to start practicing. As I was striding over my last one, another