An Open Letter to XC Practice.

An Open Letter to Surrey Ridge Athletic Complex (on the corner of Naper and Abbeywood),

You have caused me a great deal of pain. When I spontaneously joined the Kennedy Junior High cross country team in 7th grade, there was no way I could have predicted that 6 years later, I would be sitting here writing an angry letter about what you have done to me. As I sit here, my body feels broken in so many places. My shins are in a deteriorated state and probably will be forever. It’s not all your fault, but you started it. 

I remember the first time we ran to you. You’re about half a mile away from Kennedy, just a quick trip up New Albany Road. I used to think that distance was excruciating. When we got to you, we would run 3 or 4 laps around, then go back home. The most I ever probably ran in a day of junior high was 2.5 miles. Some days were awful. We had to run as fast as we could around you with minimal rest in between, and it never got easier to do that. You are extremely boring. You’re a flat field with a couple trees in the middle. You have two baseball fields and a small parking lot, and there’s a tiny pavilion in the center with a couple rusty water fountains. You are a typical suburban green space and there is nothing special about you. 

Nowadays, I can go 7 miles without batting an eye. That, of course, is at the cost of my healthy body. I naturally wanted to keep running XC in high school because I was always on the cusp of being good at Kennedy. Forever the 8th fastest runner, I missed the cutoff for “varsity” in both years of junior high. You made me believe that continuing was worth it, that I had more to achieve. And you were right. I had more success in high school. I got the ribbons and medals I worked for, and I was consistently at the top of JV. 

But you did way more for me than push me towards success. You gave me a family I could not live without. Cross country is debilitating. If you have no one to endure it with, it is quite literally torture. I think cross country friendships are stronger than any others, and I would be lost without the girls you gave me. Though they are not the same girls that I had when I first began cross country, every single one who I have run with is important to me. 

And to be honest, at Surrey Ridge, the sky is a brighter blue than anywhere else. The sun shines brighter and the air is crisper. Though you sit on a pretty busy street, you would never feel it in the atmosphere. You watched me grow up. You watched my legs get stronger. You watched me get faster. You reminded me that I had indeed started somewhere that was so distantly behind where I am now. I’m sad to be leaving you behind as I run somewhere else. No doubt I will find another boring green space in another cityscape, but it’s never going to be the same.

So I thank you, Surrey Ridge. Thank you for being where you are: the purgatory between my junior high and high school days. I do not thank you for the throbbing in my lower half, but I thank you for everything that caused it. I hate you, I love you, and even though you are a mile away from my house, I miss you already.

- Greta Maras ( @Gamaras42 )