As soon as my brother reached 7th grade, he joined cross country. The two years that followed until my progression to the same age seemed infinite. I imagined cross country as a chance to finally show off my skill. I figured that because I had been running all that time on my own, I would have a head start over the other kids. Perhaps I could earn their admiration.
Needless to say, the first cross country practice of my 6th grade career was a humbling one. I came in towards the back of the pack on our mile long run, far …show more content…
It only took a week for the coaches to realize that this class of fifteen-year-olds was like none they'd ever seen before. On the day of the first meet, five of them took varsity spots and another two sat in the top fifteen runners. I managed to grab hold of the seventh and final varsity spot, edging out just two seconds in front of the leading JV freshman. One could argue that this was a good result, but I knew better. Given all my pre-season training, any position less than fifth was a defeat. I also knew for a fact that most of the freshmen had hardly gotten in shape by this time. Once they hit their peak fitness I would be sent back down the ranking.
But I didn't give up. All of junior year I worked my hardest to remain in the varsity seven. I would run with the best at practice and expand upon the workout once we finished. If the group did 6 miles, I would do seven. If they did 42 hills, I would do 50. Junior year ended with me still holding that final spot. Senior year I climbed higher, at one point resting at fifth for our team.
While I never made newspaper headlines for my efforts, I am and always will be proud of them. Cross country enabled me to truly understand the value of hard work, a lesson that I apply and will continue to apply to every aspect of my