the seventh runner matters.

It’s silly to me that there’s some people that walk around with the notion that the seventh runner doesn’t matter. It’s silly to me that there’s people that think that because they can run faster than somebody that they’re a better human being. Or that their overall value is more significant. Like c’mon, you crossed a finish line with a lower number. You didn’t solve world hunger.

I think it’s really easy to look at your place on the team and let it either grow your ego or tear it to shreds. Your eyes see the results sheet, you see that you placed first for the team, fourth, tenth, whatever it is. And for some of us, that’s all that matters. The actual place that you came in, is sort of insignificant. Sure, it matters for the team place, and it matters on that day. But all of the days following the race, the only place that matters is the place you came in for the team. Where you placed overall doesn’t effect whether you’re running JV or Varsity, it doesn’t effect the workouts you’re doing during the week. And let’s be real, most the people that you spend time with outside of running, your classmates, your family, don’t care about where you placed overall. Why? Because you don’t have to tell them. You control the narrative. People aren’t going to look up your milesplit or athletic.net account, people don’t care. And even if they did, they wouldn’t have a clue where to look. So when you’re able to say “I’m a varsity runner”, “I’m the top runner on the team”, “I’m one of the top runners on the team” It’s a little ego juice. But what you leave out is the fact that it’s all semantics.

“I’m the top runner on the team” you can be the top runner on the team if you place 150th out of 156 and everyone behind you is also on your team.

In the exact same race there could be a guy that placed 50th, seventh on their team, didn’t score for the team. Is that person less of a runner because they’re on the fringe of JV because their school has a lot of good runners? Is the guy that placed 150th, top guy on his team, a better runner? Probably not.

The whole notion that if you’re the sixth, seventh, eighth runner that you don’t matter, because you’re not scoring for the team, makes my head hurt. It’s blasphemy.

Whether we want to admit it or not, this sport is an individual sport with some team aspects. And it’s definitely not the other way around. Where you place on the team means absolutely nothing. Now of course this does not mean don’t run as hard. It doesn’t mean you should settle for being the ninth or seventh, or fifth, or whatever number, always strive for the best, always strive for greatness. However, what it does mean, every teams situation is different. Every narrative is different. Just because you’re the first runner on one team, doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be the ninth on another. There’s high schools with so much depth that some of the guys on JV could go on to running D1 at the collegiate level. Using blanket statements like “you don’t matter if you don’t score for your team” is a pretty pretentious statement. Chances are, regardless of how good you think you are, unless you’re the top six in the nation, there’s a team that you could also be the seventh runner. Does that mean you don’t matter? Does that mean you’re not working hard enough? Does that mean you should start feeling bad about yourself? No.

People that say these things, people that think these things, often times are not even at the top. They’re people in the middle, for some reason people in the middle get these massive ego trips. And this statement runs true through most aspects of society. Look at the wealthiest people in the U.S. for example, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg, when do you ever see any of these guys flexing their wealth on people? Never. By far the best example of this can be found at any department store. You know what I’m talking about, the guy that’s a “department manager” or “head cashier” the guy that’s literally making two bucks more than you, but because he has a little bit more authority, a little bit different title, he thinks he’s top shit. Tells you to do things like he owns the place, drives a leased Kia Rio, acts like the place would fold if he left. When in reality he’s just another dude like you. Strong teams are not built on ideologies or mindsets that you’re better than other people on your team, whether you’re faster than someone on your team should not matter. It doesn’t give you the right to exclude others from doing a workout with you or running with you on a recovery day, or looking down upon them when they talk to you. The goal should be to encourage and bring your teammates up, make them believe they can do things they never thought they could.

And if we’re conceding to the fact that a runner’s value on the team is based solely on their numbers, then we’re also accepting that this is not a team sport at all. What I love about basketball, football, baseball, is the camaraderie, the belief that it takes a village to win a championship rather than just one guy, rather than just a few guys. Lebron James, arguably one the best NBA players ever, has mentioned numerous times how James Jones was his favorite teammate of all time. Jones consistently averaged less than 5 points a game while playing with Lebron and his on court time is far less than his time spent sitting on the bench each game. Any statistician would tell you that James Jones is an insignificant player, sure he can hit the corner 3, but a lot of players can do that. He’s not needed. But what the numbers don’t take account for are the people that are able to keep the team in a good mood through a loss and a win. The people that can make you laugh at your worst times. The people that continue to work hard each and every year, but for whatever reason, the times just are not showing, and yet they don’t give up, that determination rubs off. The people that always come in clutch with the good snacks, the people that are just silly, the people that drive a big mini van and are able to get everyone to the spaghetti dinner. The people that have amazing leadership skills and demand respect, the people that are always in a good mood regardless of the circumstance. The people that study the course map and have a strategic plan on how they’re going to get to as many points on the course as possible, to cheer for their teammates.

Everyone has a significant role on the team.

But sometimes, that role is not shown on the results sheet.