How I feel about this insane thing we call cross country
You see, cross country isn't something that anyone can do. Yes some people will say it's easy, but most will say that we're all crazy and that's usually the answer we get when we tell them how much we ran that morning at practice. Of course these people don't understand why we run more miles than what they have on their car or why we choose to wake up every Saturday morning before the sun comes up to go run a race hours later that doesn't even last longer than 20 minutes.
I think that cross country is something that anyone outside of the sport will never be able to understand. They won't understand unless they go out there and do what we do, which is something most people would never think of doing. Running for fun seems crazy to most people. They'd never wake up at 5/6 in the morning just to go on a nice long run. All of the non-runners call as insane, which we are, I mean what cross country runner wouldn't be?
But to me, running just isn't something I go and do for the heck of it, running is an escape, it's an escape from all of reality and jut everything that's going on in life. It's also the way that I made friends who didn't just become my teammates, but also my family. They are the only ones who truly understand this crazy sport that we all love, they're the ones who are there at every practice and every meet to push you to do your best, the people that get up at 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning just like you to go do what most people can't. They're the type of team that through all the sweat, laughs, tears, and even arguments, are going to stand by your side and help you overcome any hills that appear in your course of life.
This sport has given me the opportunity to be apart of another family. It's opened my eyes and mind so much when it comes to the running world. It's made me mentally strong and taught me that no matter how much something hurts, the pain isn't going to last forever. It's also helped me become the person I am today, without cross country and my team I don't think I would've ever discovered how amazing the feeling is right before that gun goes off or right after I've finished a race. I've been running cross country since I was in 8th grade and after this season is over I'll only have one more year as a high school cross country runner. To all the freshman and sophomores; cherish every moment you get with your team, the next couple years are going to fly by before you know it.
- Another insane runner, just like you :)
