Personal Narrative: Cross Country

In all my life, I’ve never had a commitment that required so much of me as track and field, both physically and mentally. Towards the end of my high school career, track and field for me meant having to push through a difficult physical condition known as tarsal coalition, a condition that causes inflammation in my feet. With help from my coaches, I had to learn to endure past physical limitation and strengthen my faith in my abilities. By doing so, I became more confident in myself and I was able to help lead other team members to do the same. Not only did track and field teach me to lead, but it also taught me how to be a part of a team. I learned the value of teamwork through building relay race teams. In all relay races, I was either the

A time when I accomplished something by continuing to try even when success did not appear imminent was when I thought I was not going to get my varsity letter in Northview Cross country after NLL's even though I did not exactly break 18 minutes and 30 seconds for a 5K. In the NLL race I knew from the start I had to stay relaxed, race people, and not go out to fast so I am not dead after the first mile. So I went out towards to top pack and stayed tough with the other runners as long as I could. When I approached the final 400 meters I did an all out sprint allowing me to pass 3 runners giving me a time of 18 minutes and 35 minutes. I felt proud of this accomplishment and even happier when my coach said "I think you are going to get your

Many activities I participate in require serious commitment. Most notably, I am the captain of the Cross Country team and on the varsity Track team here at Brookfield East. To be at peak performance, I must train every day. Although running is difficult, it is how I “seize the day.” To get to where I am now, it took countless hours and substantial dedication. Now I am at the end of the road, all the time I put into acheiving my goal was not in vain. I have become faster than I ever was before and have lead my teamates to do the same as we pushed each other and met with success. The demands of race also require a straightforward mindset focused on competing. The difficulties that were tolerated during the training and race are turned

When the stakes are high and completion is close, you have to find something deep down that know one else has, and that is heart. You soon realize that your best is not your best, and that you can always reach a new level of greatness. Countlessly, we believe that it is impossible to to aim higher, but that is where we go mentally weak. Every season, I set a goal to run a certain time by state, and work hard until I conquer it. When I am in a race, and I'm dying of pain, my goal seems to get harder to reach by the second, but that is when you dig deeper than you ever have. Falling on the ground in tears because you did the absolute best you could, despite the pain, is much greater than falling on the ground in tears because you wish you would

One thing should be said about Cross Country, it is no easy sport. Most of the time is spent running, miles upon miles. There is not always someone around to monitor everyone’s activity levels, it would be very easy to stop running; however, doing that only hurts oneself. Even though times it would have been easier to quit, I persevered, knowing that it would benefit me in the long run.

If I didn’t like this sport, I would go find one with a bench in it. Running is a mental sport. No half times, time outs and no breaks. From start to finish….. I run cross country. Cross country is not just me being athletic it’s: I train, I’m confident, I have the guts, sprite and the Accomplishment when you finish strong. Fun, active, skillful, cross country will make me happy no matter what. I believe in cross country.

I feel like I’m a leader in my cross country mainly because I’ve been in there for three years and I am the only veteran there. This sport is a hard sport not because its intense running but it’s an unpopular sport not like football. Everyone that wants to do a sport they want to be seen to show off their skill. Let’s be real no one likes running, maybe that’s why coaches use that as a punishment and seeing that running is a sport discourage them that’s why less people join.

Since Ii was a little girl Ii liked to run. My grandma told me that she would always buy me dolls but Ii never played with them. I always wanted to go play outside with my cousins, always active. My sophomore year in high school, a friend told me to join the track team, she told me that if i didn't like it, to quit. On the first day of practice i was exhausted , i told myself Ii would never do this again, but i never stopped going for some reason. I remember walking down the hallways after school and seeing people run back and forth, doing drills that i never imagined myself doing. The way i saw the others perform was inspiring, from people sprinting, to long distance running, to throwing to hurdling. I would always think to myself, “how

Since I first started cross country, I have learned a lot about the sport and myself, while simultaneously improving dramatically. Before cross country, I had only ever done academics and I excelled without really trying, not really understanding why everyone couldn't do the same. Cross

The competition, the family, the technique, and surviving the pain are some of the major details of running. Each meet you are competing against about 150 other competitors and the clock. The team is very close since you are training for 4+ months and begin to establish a personal connection between teammates. Cross country running requires stride length, leg action, and a certain foot plant for road running. These techniques cannot be picked up instantly, they will only become habit if the runner adopts specific cross country training. Cross country is not like other sports who get timeouts and are able to switch out other players between rounds, it's an all out 5k without any breaks or stops. No matter the pain you feel, you must finish

I slowly grew accustomed to this sport’s physical demand, but I was still one of the slower JV runners on the team despite all my efforts. I was the athlete who didn’t cut the turns during cool-down after a race. I was the athlete who ran races even if she had an injury. And I was the athlete who always went the literal AND figurative extra mile to improve... but always got

Over the summer of 2015, I drove to City Park to run in one of their many nature trails. I entered the trail focusing on my time, distance, and pace of my run; and not the beauty of the trails. The more I was on the trails the more I felt a part of all the vegetation surrounding me. Since these trails were marked by the City Park administration, I was able to read and learn about different plants, trees, and other foliage. I could also feel the cool breeze of the wind passing through the trees within the trails. This cool, gust of wind helped me enjoy my run and keep me cool while on the beautiful paths. At one point, the trail led me up hill for quite some time. Once I reached the top of the hill, my breath was taken away by view I

Last fall is a blur of Billy Currington music and tears over aching knees. Yes, I know that was dramatic, but it’s true.

Before our region qualifying race my coach told us: don’t settle for being where you’re at, even if you run

“ Thank you, thank you, thank you! ” I said embracing my mom. I had been saving up for this day hoping my mom would let me go to Colorado with her.