"I thought cross country was lame"

Alright cool! So I never really though about cross country when I went into middle school, tbh I thought it was lame. So in 7th grade modified I swam. Wasn't horrible. Wasn't good. The coach didn't do anything to help me. So the next year, my last year to play a modified sport, I knew I didn't want to do swim. I had been road running since I was 10, and had run 5ks a lot. In fact, that summer between 7th and 8th grade I ran my first 15k (Utica Boilermaker) and so I thought "well nothing could be worse than the infamous 'heartbreak hill'" on that course. So I gave it a go. From there I fell in love, this is the best sport in the world. It has made me stronger mentally and physically, and it also fuels my drive to succeed. When I got to Varsity (9th grade aka this year), I realized that this would be the sport id play through high school. More than anything, though, I love my coach. She's one of the reasons I love this sport as much as I do. She's been there through races with panic attacks mid run and cramps to end all cramps, but also for my best PR and first sectionals race. She even came out to watch my first half marathon this year, the Syracuse Half. It was the one that made runner's world because it was in a literal blizzard (I know great way to start my half marathon career) in the video of me finishing my dad took, all you can hear is her screaming. So anyway, I thought I'd share this because this sport deserves much more credit than it receives, and a great coach can make a world of a difference

- @mdesanctis1 (Gabby DeSanctis)