Personal Narrative: My First Cross Country Career

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Pages: 2

Early on, running was one of the few activities that I could share with my older brother. He would talk to me while we ran, something he rarely did otherwise, and I was allowed the opportunity improve our relationship.

As soon as my brother reached 7th grade, he joined cross country. The two years that followed until my progression to the same age seemed infinite. I imagined cross country as a chance to finally show off my skill. I figured that because I had been running all that time on my own, I would have a head start over the other kids. Perhaps I could earn their admiration.

Needless to say, the first cross country practice of my 6th grade career was a humbling one. I came in towards the back of the pack on our mile long run, far
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It only took a week for the coaches to realize that this class of fifteen-year-olds was like none they'd ever seen before. On the day of the first meet, five of them took varsity spots and another two sat in the top fifteen runners. I managed to grab hold of the seventh and final varsity spot, edging out just two seconds in front of the leading JV freshman. One could argue that this was a good result, but I knew better. Given all my pre-season training, any position less than fifth was a defeat. I also knew for a fact that most of the freshmen had hardly gotten in shape by this time. Once they hit their peak fitness I would be sent back down the ranking.

But I didn't give up. All of junior year I worked my hardest to remain in the varsity seven. I would run with the best at practice and expand upon the workout once we finished. If the group did 6 miles, I would do seven. If they did 42 hills, I would do 50. Junior year ended with me still holding that final spot. Senior year I climbed higher, at one point resting at fifth for our team.

While I never made newspaper headlines for my efforts, I am and always will be proud of them. Cross country enabled me to truly understand the value of hard work, a lesson that I apply and will continue to apply to every aspect of my