Personal Narrative: I Am A Leader In A Cross Country

“Sprinters don’t even do anything,” is what the distance runners say. “You guys hardly even run,” they go on. As a sprinter, I hear this a lot. Every year we get grief from them about how they think we don’t do anything and it’s very agitating. Track and field is supposed to be a team sport, although people do run in their separate events. Having the long distance runners always talk gossip and tell us we never do anything is just adding unnecessary drama. I hope some day they can learn to stop making perceptions of us.

“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle or last. You can say, ‘ I finished’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that” - Fred Lebow. I began cross country in eighth grade shortly after my brother joined the year before. He enjoyed it a lot, so I thought it would be fun. I’ve been on the team for two years. I would like to run for the rest of my life. Cross country changed my life positively forever. It taught me to push myself past what I thought was my limit. It revealed to me a great community of people and it taught me to leave my comfort zone.

A significant challenge that I thought I wouldn't have accomplished was during our biggest track-and-field meet against all of the big schools around. It was the Shawnee invitational and one of our girls on the track team ended up messing up her ankle in her first relay race, which meant she couldn't run the 800m dash or the 1800m dash. I was the only one on the team who didn’t have four events because I ran the 4x2 and the 4x1 which was the main events at the invitational. So the coach asks me to fill in for her, my first thought was ‘oh Nooooooo, i can’t”. Not only did I just finish one on my relays and had to rest up for my next one, but also I was not ready to run only distant runs that day. I had only practiced for my events prior to the

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.

Many say Track & Field is an individual sport, but in my opinion it is not. When I am nervous before a race, I turn to my team mates. When I need help on perfecting a Field event, I not only can turn to my coach, but I can turn to my team mates. I have realized that Track & Field is my favorite sport because the bond I have formed with my teammates is like no other. I do not even consider

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

First of all, most are aware that there is a very large absence of sports that Kihei Charter School offers to its students. Although there is a lack of a variety of sports to be involved in, cross country is one of the many quality teams we have at our school. Among the many perks of this sport, becoming a more socially active with other athletes is a very important one. There are a few hundred students at Kihei Charter School who barely even know their peers. Since the cross country team is open to all grades at any skill level, there is a wide variety of people who run with

Since sophomore year, I have tried a diversity of races, each providing their own unique lessons. The major event that seems, like the NBA championship to track runners overseas is FAR EAST. I started when the veterans was aiming for what they called “2peat” in bringing home the banners. In order to succeed, I had to be dedicated to put my heart and soul into my events. Dedication comes easier to have when you have not only your team support, but also the others

Getting hurt while playing sports is no fun, especially if it happens to you twice in the same season or should I say year. Having to watch your teammates train and compete while you are sitting on the sidelines really stinks, in fact it sucks.

I had heard about the cross country team but I didn’t know anyone who was a part of it. The cross country team was full of girls who were welcoming and shared the same passion for running as me. I was putting in a lot of time into this team, from long practices everyday and meets every Wednesday and Saturday, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I was able to mentor the younger members on the team and share my love for running with them. After being a part of this team for three years, together, we have won three consecutive senate championships and developed a bond like no other.

The final seconds of a cross country meet when you are sprinting down the straight away, looking at the finish line, trying to beat just one more person, is one of the most mentally and physically exhausting moments I’ve ever encountered. In the Fall of 2014 things just clicked with our girls cross country team. Winning Bi-county, Conference, Sectional, and advancing to Regional and Semi-state, was unexpected to everyone around us. Losing five of our seven varsity runners the year before got us moved from our small school rank of 3rd to 13th. Getting moved ten spots on that list motivated us even more to prove to everyone what we could do without those graduated seniors.

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.

Running is in my blood. If you ask my parents, they will tell you as soon as I learned to walk, I ran everywhere I went.There are pictures of me at 18 months old chasing my dad as he mowed the lawn. It was difficult to convince me to walk anywhere. I’m a little bit older now but not much has changed. I’ve been running for PD since 8th grade, and it was a mistake that I didn’t start in 7th. Every year I have shown growth in not only my times, but also my character and attitude toward the team. As each season went by, I’ve come to realize how PDXC is more than just a team: it’s a family. During my freshman year at camp in Boone, Coach Hovis had a speech that conveyed how and why PDXC is a family. I remember almost scoffing at that in 9th grade,