I believe that with perseverance you can achieve any dream that you have.
Cross Country is a grueling sport, it’s tough both mentally and physically. You run, step by step, covering mile after mile to simply reach the finish line. I believe in the value of perseverance because I believe that if you refuse to give up anything is possible.
My cross country coach in high school used to say all the time that “how you treat this sport is how you are going to treat everything else in life.” I think that he was right, at least he’s been in my case.
I’m not naturally a long distance runner, if you look at me I’m just not built like a cross country runner. But despite the fact that nature wasn’t on my side I joined cross country my junior year of high school because my coach convinced me that it would help me for the track season.
My first cross country practice was on a hot July day, the kind of day where the heat sticks to you and there really is no relief, the only place you should be is the beach, yet I was standing with 30 other girls at the local park waiting for practice to start.
I started second guessing my decision to join the team about 3 minutes into our 15 minute warmup, everyone was running so fast, and it was just the warm up. I couldn’t believe it my lungs were gasping for air and my legs already hurt and the workout hadn’t even begun. I made it through that practice with the help of my friend Cam, we made a pact that we would stick together and help each other make it through.
I showed up everyday to practice. That was really all I could do, I wasn’t setting any world records, hell I wasn’t even going to make the varsity seven and I knew that, but I showed up everyday anyway. Running, especially long distance is a personal sport, it’s about you, it’s about your improvement. The sport is full of highs and lows but Cam and I ran together everyday and slowly but surely we continued putting mile after mile on our sneakers and it got easier.
I found that by the time school rolled around in late August and I’d been training for about two months now that I could go longer and faster before I got tired, before I felt like my legs were jello and my lungs screamed at me to stop. Everytime I wanted to stop that was when I had to push through and continue on, that’s when I had to do one more lap or shave 1 more minute off my splits.
Cross country taught me more than how to run fast and far. Cross country made me reach deep into my mind and believe in myself that I could do it that I could finish the race, that I could get a personal best, that I could be better and work harder.
Hard work is rewarded in cross country the ones who work the hardest are the ones who make the biggest stride. This I believe, perseverance is a value that will take me where I want to go in life and it will allow me to open the doors I need to achieve my dreams.