How Cross Country Changed My Life

Although I had only participated in the school Cross Country team for two years, I felt very connected to the team and wish I had participated my sophomore and freshmen year as well. Over the two seasons, I have made many great friends and learned the importance of working hard to achieve my goals. Throughout my life, my parents have pushed me academically, but never really encouraged me to try hard in sports or physical activities. Cross country filled that void for me and helped me become a more well-rounded person.

In physical education we were put to do the mile I was always second to last if not last I wasnt made fun of but I didnt really good about myself. As the years went on I was still fat couldn’t do anything until sophomore year of high school is where it all changed. I remember it quite clearly as if it was yesterday I was sitting in my math class when one of classmates had large number pinned to his bag and a uniform on that hadn’t seen before. That's when I got curious and asked what sport was all this for he then explained it was for cross country and that I should join it would be fun. It turns out that the season was about to end so it was to late to join so I had to wait for next year so I did. I went my junior in the summer since that's when they practiced and ran for the first time. After this first run I thought I was going to literally die and didn't want to this any more and to top it off all the guy runners who I thought that were slow beat one by one. This is where I decided I wasn't going to be last or lose a race to anyone. I practiced the whole year and did track top it off. Now the summer of my senior year was very motivational since I got up early ran and did this everyday till school started to be the best of my high school. Well the season would begin and I was breaking my school records and receiving medals from invitationals and

I’ve always had a desire for running and when I heard Richland Center High had a Cross Country team, I knew I wanted to be on it! When I did start, it was tough. There were times my sanity would ask, “ WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU

Having the desire to one day see those views in person or enough self-confidence to finally post a decent beach picture without being self-conscious. Running on the cross country team will quickly whip you into shape. Maybe you won’t get that rock-hard six pack that you have always wanted at first, but if you stay consistent with it, you’ll end up being closer than you were before. Since cross country is a very active sport, especially since it is a long distance, you will burn several hundreds of calories and can influence healthy eating habits depending on your goals. Running cross country will improve your overall strength, endurance, health, and hopefully influence positive daily

For 2 years I was a member of the Central Toronto Athletic Club. CTAC is a competitive middle distance running club that trains its athletes to compete in track and field and cross country events. It is a year round athletic club that is a platform for talented people of almost all ages to train and to focus on their self-progress as an athlete. At CTAC I was encouraged to push myself to test the limits of my speed, endurance and strength and to discover what my body is truly capable of. Running was a very satisfying sport because my achievements were directly proportional to the amount of work that I put in. At CTAC, I learned discipline, dedication and perseverance. I had to balance my schoolwork with daily practices or workouts, I ran six

Starting out just testing the water, Cross Country and Tennis as has a profound effect on my life. Cross Country has taught me that getting first place is not as important as the effort put into the race. Not all races can be won but giving it your best is a reward itself. Tennis was not as simple of a sport that expected it to be at all. From hitting the ball to weather tennis was an incredibly complex sport. I found it fascinating that changing the angle of the tennis racquet from 30 degrees would be a difference of almost half the court. Also power was never a key factor of any competition. It was all about strategy and consistency. During my junior year we were runner-up the Ohio Valley Cross Country League and during my senior year won Ohio Valley Athletic Conference in

I know that I couldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for my family and my coaches for pushing me to do the best. There are many other things that I am proud of accomplishing in Cross Country.

Then the day came, the day I finally came face to face with my destiny, the day I met cross country. After that day I knew that this was my purpose and that this is what I was meant to do.     Cross country is a tough (to say the least) sport. Day in and day out, you have to give it your best. That does not mean you have to run as hard as you can, but the effort has to be at its best every day.

I often get asked by friends why I run cross country. They wonder why I think running is fun and how I can run so far. Although there are days I often ask myself why I run cross country, the answer is simple, it is fun and we are all crazy for joining a sport that is other sports punishments. Cross country is an amazing sport that doesn’t get enough recognition. Even if there are days where I hate practice because of a workout or don’t do well in a race, at the end of the day I still get support from the team no matter what happens.

I did not know that I could push myself so hard and come far enough to drop over a minute of time from freshman year for my 5k time. Joining cross country in high school was quite scary for me. I did not know many people, other than the two girls who were over ten minutes faster than

Sports have helped shape me into the person I am today. Both cross country and track have increased my knack for supportiveness and taught me the importance of hard work. Furthermore, I value the dedication I have learned from cross country and the self control and perseverance I have learned from track. These acquired skills, which I will continually strive to apply to all areas of my life, are beneficial not only to me, but to those around me whom I effect and, consequently,

In cross country you must learn to never give up. You could be learning this in a cross country race or even during practice. If you learn not to give up and to push through the agonizing pain, then you would become more likely to do the same in a real-life situation. Cross country is a perfect place to develop the strength

Throughout my entire high school career, the best times I experienced happened when I was participating in Cross Country. Moreover, Cross Country has changed me in a way that nothing else has. After four years, the two best traits I was able to receive were those of leadership and perseverance.

I was born to run. I adore the feeling of aching legs, winded breath, and the absolute joy of knowing I have accomplished something so utterly momentous: winning a race. When I run, I feel strong and vivacious both on the inside and on the outside. Last year, I decided to join the high school cross-country team. I was extremely excited and could not wait for practice to begin, but I was also somewhat nervous. What if I was not talented enough? What if my skills were not competent enough? What if the coaches thought I was just… mediocre? I was so nervous, I began to doubt and feel dubious about my running potentiality.

Throughout my childhood I had always been very cautious. I was always afraid of getting hurt or disappointment. My parents were used to bribing me into trying new things. I remember specific instances of learning to ride a bike without training wheels, my fist time water skiing, or joining football in the 6th grade all starting with a bribe. Once I finally got myself to try these new things, I always ended up okay and was happy with the risk I’d taken. Joining cross-country was no different. As a freshman joining cross country was one of the biggest decisions I had ever made; one I can look back on now as one of my best decisions.