By Blake Robinett
December 6, 2018
Cross country was the greatest experience of my life. Anyone who knows me well enough knows this, but more importantly they know why.
I joined freshman year. I needed a place to make friends and stay healthy. Cross country seemed like the perfect idea as up to that point I thought I was kind of fast. I was in for the shock of my life as I soon realized that I could barely run a lap around the track. I, like many, realized how much I hate running. The rest of the year was just as disheartening. I did make friends eventually, but every Friday when we had a meet I stayed behind. My friends would leave me alone because I never ran fast enough to qualify. It was disappointing to say the least, but I didn’t give up.
Sophomore year started off in a similar way, but quickly took a turn for the better. Our second time-trial of the year was the first time I qualified to go to meets. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I was finally able to join my friends. I went on to run at every meet that year, running between 23 to 25 minutes for our 5K races. I wasn’t fast, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was being a part of the group of friends that became my second family.
My cross country career became interesting my junior year. When our season first started, I still thought I was slow. However, I quickly began to cut time off my personal record. I had made friends with many of my teammates, most of which were faster than me. I worked hard in an effort to join them in the competitive scene. All season, my races became faster and faster. I was finally making progress towards my new goal of becoming a fast runner. Towards the end of the semester, I cut my time down to 21 minutes: much faster than I had thought possible. The season ended on a high note. I was finally competing against my friends, all of us pushing each other to be better. I was also eager to begin what would soon become the best year of my life, senior year.
The summer before school started, I practiced harder than ever before. I ran with some of the fastest runners I know. The young men and women that made up our varsity team became my running buddies, pushing me to my best. The summer was long and hard, but it paid off. During our first time-trial of the season, I ran my fastest time so far: 20:12, almost a minute faster than my previous best time. I was ecstatic about it! I passed some of my friends that were my role models when it came to running. The team was surprised to see me keeping up with them, but I was only just getting started. The very next race was the race that changed my life. That day I felt at the top of my game. I was ready to prove to the world that I was no longer the shy kid that joined cross country 4 years ago. That race I ran 19:05, shaving another minute off my record. I beat some of the varsity runners that I’d always thought were far out of my reach. My coaches, my teammates and my family were just as happy to celebrate this accomplishment. The best race of my life turned into the best day of my life with the overwhelming support from all the people I cared about.
Now that two years have passed, I still look back on my high school days with a smile. My last years there were the best of my life, and it’s because of cross country. I can’t imagine how different my life would be without the amazing relationships and self-understanding I gained from cross country. I will never forget those who helped me to do what I considered impossible.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Infuse Student Media or Southwest Baptist University.
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