"I ran my first practice in 11 months today"

 I almost didn't run cross country. In 7th grade I moved to a new town and hated everything about and was very bitter towards everyone. My science teacher was one of the biggest blessings. He told me all about cross country my 7th grade year. I continued to insist I HATED running, and I did at the time. In 8th grade I was a manager for a few sports but once they were over I was forced into off season. My science teacher was one of the coaches. I started running with the distance girls and was hooked. I ran everyday in the morning and evening. Then freshman year comes around and I promised him I would do XC. I almost backed out, I didn't go to practice the first three days of school. Then, I went. And I died the first week and wanted to quit so bad. But I got better and ended up improving my time by 9 minutes. Then before my sophomore year I had surgeries on not one, but both of my feet. By the time xc season came around I was barely healed enough to run. I did anyways and ended up hurting my hips really bad. Coach made me stop running pretty soon after the season started. Now it's my junior season coming up and I have struggled so badly with not having any motivation to run. I skipped all summer practices and was seriously considering quitting. But one of my best friends that recently graduated (used to be the best runner on the team) texted me and convinced me to try it one last time. So I ran my first practice in 11 months tonight. I hope with all heart that I can find my love for running again. I almost didn't run cross country. Twice.

- Anonymous