| I wrote this particular piece in eighth grade and revised it in ninth grade. Again, this was written in ninth grade. I am particularly proud of this piece because I love Cross Country, I have run Varsity Cross Country since eight grade, hold the school record, and believe truly, that Running Is Life. Running Is Life "Hey, good job!" "Thanks, you too!" Another race come and gone with the usual post-race chatter. To the casual observer, this may seem like no big deal, but to the runner, this is an essential part of the race. In fact, not many people even know about Cross Country or that running is a highly popular sport Cross Country is a sport where fifty to three hundred high school runners race on a 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) course of grass, dirt, gravel, hills and woods and though all sorts of weather. This is my second year running varsity Cross Country for Fort Knox. I was third on the team for most of the season. We practice after school every day. It is a chilly Saturday morning the day of the regional meet in Bowling Green, Kentucky. As I walk to school, I think about the race because this is the big one, comparable to a play off game. The top four teams and the next seven individuals head on to state. I plan on being in that group. During the hour bus ride, we listen to our Walkmans, thinking about the race -- mentally going over course and stategy. Running is a very mental sport. When we arrive we set up our tent and jog the course to lousen up the kinks from the bus ride. We stretch and then it is time for the girls to run. They do great! They performed second in region and ended up seventh in state. "First call, Boys Varsity!" the anouncer yells, signalling our turn. We find our lane and the girls come over to wish us luck. Coach Olive also comes and gives us some last minute pointers. We then do some sprint outs and kneel down to pray. After the prayer, we scream "EAGLES!!!" and we hear the girls screaming for us at the top of their lungs. They were the loudest group out there and that encouraged us to do our best. Our captain later said he felt like crying. But, it was time to get down to business. "On your mark . . . get set . . ." "BANG!!!" The gun report! I start sprinting the first two hundred yards then settle into a good pace. I am thinking about my breathing and the race -- not school, grades, or even the homework I haven't done for Mrs. Hibberd. My goal is to keep up with Richard and Jon, the two fastest runners on the team. Coming up is the first hill, and I pick it up a little. Then a downhill and I stretch out my stride. This is about the one mile mark and my time is about 5:30. So far I have kept up with Rich and Jon. Then another hill, bigger this time. I shorten my stride and start to fall behind the guys. I mentally scream at myself to catch up. The course continues with a slight decline and follows with an incline. Following that is the longest, steepest downhill of the course. I again lengthen my stride and let gravity take me down. All this time I have been passed and have passed others. This is where I catch up and pass Richard. Around a bend to re-do the whole thing. There is the girl team cheering us all on! I begin to push harder and they attempt to spray me with water. I could see the suprise on their faces that I was keeping up with, in fact passed, Rich. The previous race Rich was fifth, Jon tenth, and I was thirteenth with a time of 18:37. Except this time I was keeping up with two seniors! This is the part of the course where I start to slow down. I start thinking ahead and realize I have to do the 1.5 miles I just did all over again! I notice I cant get enough oxygen and my muscles hurt and I have a cramp. Basically, life stinks! This is where the mental part plays in big time. I have to want it; I have to resis the temptation to quit. I told myself that this is for the team, for Coach, for Rich and Jon (especially for Jon, who had never been to state before), and for my father and brother who drove out to see me. This helped. I forgot about my body, though the ache in my side reminded me on the hills, and I pushed and pushed. I saw Jon walk and yelled, "No, Jon! Match my pace, you can do it!" I was going to stay with him, but everyone kept saying, "Go, go!" When Jon waved me on, I went. I sprinted the last two hundred meters with Jon right behind me. I was thirteenth our of sixty-eight runners with a time of 18:08. I was first on my team and felt great! I was the first individual to go to state with Jon and Rich second and fourth respectively. When one is running, especially at the time when I wanted to quit, you ask yourself, "Why? Why am I doing this?" I answered that question that day. I run for the glory. I run because running is life! By Luke Hendricks |
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