Impossible Run Research Paper

The weather is perfect for racing: not too hot, not too humid, not too windy. I dash down the twisted trails in the woods, trying not to stumble on the gnarled roots protruding from the dirt. My spikes puncture the soft earth with every stride, and my legs repeatedly pound on the ground, soreness surging through them. As sweat trickles down my face and dirt smears across my aching calves, I ascend a steep hill, trying to bring forth the strength I have accumulated throughout endless hours of practice. Now that I am nearing the final two hundred meters, I must force my body to begin sprinting. Breathing heavily, I dart for the imminent finish line, trying to beat the uninterrupted tick of the timer. Even though the crowd surrounds all around me, I can barely hear their animated cheers, because all I can focus on is crossing the line before the girl next to me. I can feel adrenaline surging through my body, and I widen my stride to cap off the remaining distance. When I glance at my Garmin watch, a new personal best time flashes across the screen. I realize that all of the gruelling work I have put in is worth the final result: happiness. (Snapshot Lead)

My pace was about eleven minutes per mile. I didn’t care though. I was doing it. Alayna and I eventually picked a five mile route and were surprised when we completed it without incident. I shared with Linda my desire to run in the marathon that fall. She suggested we start out doing the half. “Its 13.1 miles”, she said. “You can do that.” Alayna said she would do it with me. We agreed that the half marathon would be our marathon.

I wasn’t always a runner. Some kids are born into the running cult, but not me. We have a treadmill in our basement that my parents occasionally use when they got on a health kick, but neither of them pushed me to be a runner. During the summer of sixth grade, my mother was talking to our neighbor in our driveway. While they were standing on the blistering pavement, the subject of Cross Country came up. My neighbor’s son was on the high school team and it was doing a

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

We may glimpse the glint of the metal viewers and railing at the lookout. Watch for the bench by the trail on our right. The lookout is directly overhead now. We will get a better glimpse of it down the trail a bit, near the restroom.

In May of 2015, I ran a Spartan race. A Spartan race is an obstacle course where you try your hardest to finish and push yourself to your limit. My friend, Jess, decided to do one with her brother and wanted to take me. My sister also wanted to join since she already ran two of these races. Since I had my sister by my side, I decided to try it. It was one of the most treacherous and exhilarating times in my life and it all started with climbing over a six foot wall with a giant hill behind it.

My throat was parched instantly. Knowing that I had to stay with Shelby. Repetitively telling myself that I could do it, I have to. Once I arrived at the mile mark before I knew it. I was searching all over but I could not see Shelby. Second guessing that she was ahead of me, I worked even harder. The wind was strong and the air was dirty. For a minute I was thinking that I could not do it; however, I changed that thought quickly after I saw the finish line. Pushing the hardest I had ever pushed. Noticing that I had made it, I placed 81st in

In sixth grade I quit the school band in the middle of my third year to join Running Club. The goal of Running Club was to run a 5k after weeks of practice and I accepted the challenge. Throughout the duration of training, I would find the long runs consistently demanding and a test to my motivation to persevere in the club. One of the coaches, Miss. Ames, was my teacher from the previous year and she ran with me during practice. She constantly encouraged me to push myself a little more every run and to keep practicing. I was frustrated with my performance, but Miss. Ames continued to encourage me. Nevertheless, preparing for that 5k was an eye-opening and an overall amazing experience.

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

Suddenly, with no warning, two runners of the grade below me pulled ahead. I couldn’t believe it! They were a year younger than me, yet they were faster. However, I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch up even at my best. As I neared the 100 meter line, I started to convert into a jogging pace and got my bearings. I allowed myself to breathe again and relax but still trying to run my best. I was in 3rd place with the two kids in front of me about 50 meters away. I cleared my mind and just concentrated on breathing; taking a deep breath in through my nose, and letting it all out of my mouth. I was starting to feel the fatigue in my muscles and my legs are crying for rest, but I refused. I started hearing heavy breathing noises and loud footsteps behind me, steadily catching up. I risked a peek to my left and was horrified and yet surprised that my chubby classmate was right on my heels. I was not going to be beaten again and into 4th place. I pushed myself harder and pumped my legs and arms with renewed energy. All my blood rushed to my head and I felt like a locomotive cutting through the cold air. As we ran around the bend, we were head to head and trying to outdo each other. He

As the infamous Elle Woods once stated: “Exercise produces endorphins, endorphins make you happy, happy people don't kill people, they just don’t.” While this humorous quote is littered with circular reasoning, there is truth behind this statement. Exercise does produce endorphins and endorphins do make you happy. Endorphins are chemicals that are released from a person’s body when they exercise. They interact predominantly with cell receptors found in the region of the brain that controls pain and emotion. This is the science behind the phenomenon called “runner’s high” Runner’s high is the feeling of euphoria that a runner may experience during or after a run. But running does not just produce short-term relief, many studies show that

Let alone running a cross country race is hard, but it’s even harder when your mind is racing in a million different directions. The Saturday before my grandma passed away, I had to run the most important meet of the year, Running Rivers Conference, that day. Running that race was the most adversity I had ever faced. All I wanted to do was to help my grandma, and I didn’t

After a summer full of tantrums, the day of the race finally arrived. I was decked out in a neon green wetsuit, and was ready to finally get my summer of horror over with. As the starting horn blared, I threw myself into Lake Michigan and swam with all my might. After what seemed like hours of swimming, I reached the shore and sprinted the running portion. As I ended my mile, I ran with all my energy towards the bikes. As I started pedaling, I noticed something was terribly wrong; My back tire was completely flat. However, instead of asking for help, I stubbornly continued to pedal. I assured myself that since I started the race by myself, so I could therefore finish the race by myself.

Up into this point in my life, I have faced many new challenges. Starting this year the biggest new challenge in my life was not only beginning college, but becoming a college athlete as well. I ran cross country all four years of high school, but this was a whole different level. The team was different, it was more competitive, and I was not the same athlete I was during highschool. This new challenge in my life really tested my abilities and my determination. In particular, I remember a specific week that was especially stressful. I had sprained my ankle in the beginning of the week and our team was running

So, at first my mother and I were really exhausted, and we barely did 3-kilometer jogging. Luckily each week we were improving a lot. Suddenly my mother and I were no longer exhausted when jogging 3 kilometers. So, we increased the kilometers, that we planned to jog, each week. Now, we can do 6 kilometers. I thought that I will never be able to achieve such a thing and I am really proud of my mom and me. We plan to continue jogging every Sunday together at Carolina park and achieve the 10