What cross country is to me
Cross country, this crazy, insane sport that we crazy, insane people participate in. This sport is painful, treacherous, and hard. But, the question is, why, why do we do it? Why do we choose to constantly put our bodies under the stress of running? We know that it may bring achy knees or excruciating shin splints but we love it. We love the uncomfortableness it brings and the feeling we get after finishing mile repeats or a fartlek. We train all spring, summer, and fall for a handful of meets where we can prove to ourselves how amazing our bodies are. The only way a non-runner can understand why we train every day is only by participating in the sport. We push the limits far beyond what our expectations are, proving that we can do anything, even conquer the world, as long as you put your mind to it and push through. Running is all about pushing through, we’ve all had those days when we are in the middle of a tempo run, or a long run, even an easy run when we are struggling mentally or physically and we think to ourselves why do we run? Why am I out here in the 100-degree heat, the pounding rain, the icy roads running? Why am I not inside right now watching TV and eating junk? These are the times when we really reflect ourselves and really delve deep into our beings and find who we really are as a runner.
I run for the bliss. The feeling of bliss after you finish a race or finished what seemed like the hardest workout of your life. When I run I am able to forget about all my troubles and welcome the pain that is settling into my legs and embrace the lactic acid. I can escape from everything and I can count on my imagination to take me places far and wide knowing that my legs can take me there. Sometimes, however, we aren’t supposed to dissociate from our run but tune in with our bodies and try to feel every aching muscle in our body, how our lungs are gasping for air, and how our bodies are literally screaming at us to stop and take a break. These are the times when we are truly testing our limits and attempting to push through this tough mental wall and when we finally breakthrough that wall we know that we are mentally strong and physically able. This is when bliss is truly reached.
The second reason why I run is the team. The family on my team is amazing, it’s my home away from home. I started running freshman year to help get in shape but little did I know that I would be making memories and friends that would last a lifetime The team dynamic is amazing and I don’t think any other sport can come close to it. Everyone on the team is close because we all go through the same pain as each other and we all understand that we are putting in the same amount of effort as the next person. We know, that at the end of the day if our top runner places first with a PR of 2 seconds and our 39th runner gets a PR of 3 min, we congratulate them all the same knowing that they both put in an immense amount of effort. The people I’ve met, the experiences I am blessed to have gone through, and the agonizing workouts have shaped me as a runner, and even more, a person.
- Grace, your fellow XC buddy
