Cross-country cycling

the cross country team. Last year, Stan (the coach) convinced me to go out. The first practice was an “easy day.” Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t call four miles easy! Everyone was so nice to me, so I kept coming. I loved the social part of the sport, but the running was awful. The only thing that made up for the running were the senior boys. Not only were they eye-candy, but they were also hilarious. By two weeks into the season, I had already begun to count down the days until cross country

43 degrees Fahrenheit and realizing I had forgotten my arm warmers and iPod, I recognized the 26.2 miles ahead of me would require some grit. Yet before the starting pistol fired and the recording of Frank Sinatra singing “New York, New York” played, I knew all the preparation done in the months and weeks prior had primed me for a successful finish. There is a mantra in distance running, “the hay is in the barn,” to affirm that all of the training and miles logged up until race day will lead you

11/10/2017 A Tribute to Cross Country It’s clear that mine is not a popular sport. Walking out to where the team meets before practice, one must squeeze through a small opening in an unnecessarily locked gate. For the mile warm-up the team is often forced to run around a football sled that was carelessly left in the middle of the track. After warming up runners have to jog over to the far end of the track to do drills because the cheerleaders choose to practice in cross country’s usual spot (even

As I write to you today, I truly hope life has worked out the way I had it planned. Or at the very least, I hope you are living a happy life. Hopefully, you have graduated from Loras College, and you went on to get a graduate degree. I also would expect you have found a job you love combating climate change. Or even better, you have found a solution to save our environment, and your kids won’t have to worry about the mess your generation created. However, even as a first year college student, I realize

Last year my cross country season was going great I was redshirted and was put into uniform. I was at the peak of my athletic ability and school was going pretty good. Coming into this cross country season I could feel that I was not fit as last year which created a lot of concern for myself. I did everything that the coach told me to do and yet my body didn’t feel good at all. We got together at our cross country camp which is the start of our cross country season and our first workout I struggled

Although American society provides us with much, it hurts our identities. There is an expectation to act a certain way and fit in. Technology has made us impressionable and tells us what to think, not allowing for personal opinions. School, a big part of society, does not allow people to pursue other activities and parts of their identities. American society tries to tell us how to act, what to think, and doesn’t allow time to discover ourselves. “Ha! Nerds!” these two words greatly affected my friends

The other thing I completely understood was that I loved teaching and working in a classroom. Unfortunately, it would take a lot longer to get back into one than I had originally planned. Shortly after I reluctantly left teaching, I went to work at United Nuclear, a government installation that helped to manufacture nuclear reactors for the U.S. Navy. At that location, which is now part of the Mohegan Sun Casino grounds in Uncasville, Connecticut, my job was no longer in front of a classroom but

The day of my cross country meet that could change your mind about running cross country. 90 degrees out and no clouds above, just the plain old sun wrapping around you with no wind. Sweating just like water spilled all over yourself but imagine all that with sweat. I was shaking nervously not ready to run at all. The bang just rang out and the race has started, but then something horrific happened. The big time has come. Me and my cross country teammates are all getting ready for our big meet.

Mekenzie Schaefer Lit II P.2 Pretty Good for a Girl: an Athletes Story The book “Pretty Good for a Girl” is a biography on a cross country star and her rise to the top, but also her spiral downward with her personal battle to win.  Leslie Heywood was a long distance runner with no weakness or fear. Heywood takes us through her early years filled with eating disorders, sexual abuse, and an unhappy home life. It wasn't a drive to win, but a drive to be accepted as one of the guys. A big part of Heywood’s

As the cross-country team is preparing for its third meet of the season, it continues to improve and push itself farther. Clint Woods, head cross-country coach, said the cross-country team has improved their times from last year and is working well together in practice. “(The team has) made a lot of progress from our first meet to our second meet,” Woods said, “and we are really excited about where we can go from there.” Woods said one way they have done that is by running in a pack. “(They have)