Personal Narrative: What I Learned From My First Race

I go to the grass by where we will line up for the race and I put my spikes on. Making sure every spike is tight; I double knot the laces and stand up. Now my stomach really hurts. The nerves of a runner before a race are one of the worst things to handle. The announcer puts me in line and I take a deep breath once it’s my time to go up to the blocks. I set up my blocks for my standards and take off my sweats. The breeze hits my thighs as my tank top flows from side to side. The sun wishes me good luck just before I start my race. I slightly shake as the announcer tells us, “Runners to your mark!” and I get down. Shaking more vigorously now, my heart is pounding in my chest. It seems like hours waiting for him to yell, “Get set!” “Go!” but once he does I know it’s go time. I push off my blocks, and I run as fast as I can. I can feel my legs moving together in motion as the balls of my feet dig into the track. My spikes are doing their job in helping me grip to the surface as I make my way to the finish line. Neck and neck with the girl next to me I hope she gets winded out near the end and slows down so I can just scarcely make it past her. I feel like I am running as fast as a horse. Crossing that finish line and coming to a slow stop, I breathe heavily as I exhale in relief of being over. I did it, I’m done… and I did well. My legs raw, I get off the track. (AB) Some fellow sprinters congratulate me as I do the same to them. That is what’s nice about track, it seems like most of the people are very friendly. They have no problem congratulating you or talking to you about how nervous they are before a race. We know we are all in the same boat and all we want is to succeed. Every blue moon a distance runner will congratulate a sprinter but I don’t think it has ever happened to me. I don’t know if they are just caught up in their own world or if they are just being stingy about the whole

“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.

I started getting involved with running my senior year of high school. This was a very terrifying time in my life because I was running with people who have been doing this their whole life, which is quite intimidating when you’re new to the process. The reason why I gave running a chance was the constant begging from my younger and older sisters. They both ran and thought this was something I could potentially be marvelous at. I gave running a shot and ended up accomplishing my goal of being on varsity my senior year. Running is something that I’m genuinely passionate about and also something I’m literate in. I use running as my literacy practices whenever I’m at practices, a meet, or for therapeutic reasons.

After every race, you can vaguely expect what you will see up on the clock. I know, now, how much I put in, is only as much as I can expect to get out. Running has helped me form some ideas that are still fresh in my brain but will hopefully help me become a better version of myself. Just remember, someone may have a lifetime ahead of them, but they need to make the last bit just as good as the

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

This will help me in the future to remind me to be happy, and grateful for the opportunity to run as I do in my life. This race changed my point of view of “opportunity” to try and do things right the first time, and if I don’t, then forget about it because I can’t change it. Before this race, I felt as if I failed, everything was over, and the disappointment would never leave. For example, if I ran a terrible race, with a terrible time, I couldn't stop thinking about it for WEEKS. Now, I let it go and forget it ever happened. This also keeps me humble, by not letting me think about my accomplishments for too long, because there’s always a new opportunity. Walt Disney once

Right before Shelby woke up, Coach Benedetto came get me and Shelby so we could go eat a scrumptious breakfast with the team. I had a amusing breakfast with the boys and the coaches. I was sad after breakfast, because we had to leave. Wishing that we all could just stay there forever. We loaded the bus and left the Rushmore Hotel. That is when it hit me. My stomach felt like I had just ate a bunch of butterflies. This was the most nerve racking race ever.

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.

Those are my favorite, because I always get through them. It is said that strength grows in the moments when you think you can't, but you do it anyways. I believe this wholeheartedly, because i can feel that strength grow in each step after that thought of doubt. Every run is a blessing, and I will run until i can no longer do so. I am proud of every run, even if i don't place in that race, or if i cut my daily run short because of a muscle pull.

I first started Cross Country when I was a freshman. My freshman year I was out for part of the season because of an injury. When I was released I ran my first race and came in fifth place. Since it was my first race to ever run I was very nervous and excited to just run and get it over with. After being out for so long and going back and running my first race and getting fifth place was one of the best accomplishments I admire.

The day before Christmas in 2012 was one of the most exciting and anxiety filled days of my life. First of all, it was the day before Christmas,so as a kid I was naturally excited, second is because it was the day I ran my first 5K. A few weeks before Christmas, my parents had signed my family up for a 5K. If you didn’t know a 5k, or an “impossible task for a fourth grader”, is a 3.2 mile run. My Mom said it would be a fun challenge that would make me so much stronger. Of course that was before she told me and my sister how far we’d be running. As soon as I heard it, it instantly sounded like something I’d never be able to do. But somehow and someway I managed to do it.

“Good Job keep going, you can do it, run run faster, you got this!” These were the words coming from the audience as I was finishing my last 100 meters in the cold, pouring, rain during sectionals. I was in second place in my heat and my heart was thumping and I couldn't see through the water stains on my glasses, but I heard someone someone breathing hard and their spikes hitting the track as they ran behind me and I knew I had to push even harder.I remembered the rough trading I had in practice and knew I could do it.

When I glance towards him, I give him a reassuring nod and start to pick it up. My heart started pounding faster than It has ever pounded before. I could hear the crowd cheering and saying, “You can do it”, “Keep going”, or my favorite, “Go faster”. Zoey started to pull away from me second by second and I knew that If I just kept going faster I would win. Once I reached 200m to go I started sprinting for my life. Now everyone was cheering and yelling at me (in a good way) for me to finish. As I started to stare at the finish line my eyes started to water until, finally I passed the finish line. My heart was racing, my legs and arms were burning, and I felt like I was about to faint. I was so happy and a little light headed, but mostly happy. When everyone finished I congratulated and hugged my three friends, Zoey, Bella, and Sydney, who finished right after me.

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

Running was a part of my life between 2014 and 2016, when I was still a young middle school kid. I tried out for the track team, and I ran for my first time in March. Track and Field was a new experience for me, I had