TROY
I sat in a hot, stuffy school bus filled with nervous middle school kids. It was a Saturday morning around 8 am. I was sitting next to my friend Adam, he was on his phone probably texting about the huge meet that was about to happen. It was a cross country meet and there was supposed to be over sixty schools participating in it. Even though there were going to be so many schools I was excited. This was a chance for me to prove to my team that I could get top 20 for sixth grade racing with over six hundred kids. The bus started slowing and I noticed we were at a street light. I expected to just see a normal intersection, but there were at least ten or twelve buses at every turn trying to get into the school that the meet was in. It was then that it hit me, this race was going to be far from easy.
We stopped at the sidewalk of a normal looking middle school and unloaded the team's luggage, snacks of all kinds with tents and blankets to keep us occupied and healthy in the time leading up to the races. The races weren’t a short event, the races went 6th grade girls, 6th grade boys, 7th grade girls, 7th grade boys, 8th grade girls and finally 8th grade boys. All of the races were about 10-20 minutes long,
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I barely noticed the different turns the track took. For the length of the valley there was no shade but it was just a four hundred so it wouldn’t be that bad. After that, there was a bend to the left for about two hundred meters funneling into a path in the woods. The trail in the woods was uneven and filled with roots, there would be a lot of tripping on that narrow path. As the path in the woods ended, we run up a small but steep gravel slope, then we would run about a quarter mile in the valley. The end strip of the race had small flags and banners on either side, it had a bunch of twists and turns and ended with a large blue mat that would detect your timer and record your
Every school bus has a hierarchy, a caste system. The cool crowd the kids who smoke, come to class with hickies, and get into enough trouble to be the secret envy of the honor roll students occupies the back rows. The cheerleaders and star athletes take the middle seats. The serious students sit near the front. The nerds and the outcasts never know where they'll end up. If they're lucky, they can find an empty seat directly behind or to the right of the driver. (8)
To add to the difficulty of the trails is the extreme elevation changes. The re are ironically enough thirteen climbs which result in more than 10,000 feet of climb per loop. This is obviously accompanied by an equal amount of descent. One runner described it as climbing 100 floors of stairs in your first mile, going back down on second mile and continuing this for twenty miles. The course amasses an average grade of over 20% and between 50 and near 100 percent grade on the abandoned trails and bushwhacking sections. The grade is the reason that the trails have been abandoned or not built in the first pace. Each climb bears a unique name which in many cases gives a good idea of their nature.
Growing up as a kid I went to Northview and Bigelow Hill in Findlay, Ohio. I was very popular at both of those schools, when I got home from school one day my parents had sat my brothers and I down in the living
One of the most destructive forces that is destroying young black people in America today is the common cultures wicked image of what an realistic black person is supposed to look like and how that person is supposed to act. African Americans have been struggling for equality since the birth of this land, and the war is very strong. Have you ever been in a situation where you were stereotyped against?
One might ask what Leadville is well known for today? A popular event that puts the small town on the map for many people throughout the country is the Leadville Trail 100 mile race. This ultra running race which originated in 1982, is well known throughout the running community. The 100 mile race which must be completed in thirty hours or less, covers many trails and passes in Colorado. The main difficulty of the race is the challenge of the altitude. The climb and the decent of the trail totals 15,600 feet, with the lowest point being 9,200 feet and the highest point being 12,620 feet. Together, the altitude, incorporation of water crossings, changes in temperature, and steep inclines and descents, make the Leadville race one of the most difficult 100 mile races in the running world.
I don’t think they could’ve done anything more than what they were doing. I say that because if they would’ve done more they would’ve gotten their “head busted” like John Gray’s friend Brookley Field. In those times, what authority did a black person really have? They didn’t have anyone to take up for them and were punished without question so I don’t think it was much they could really do. I think the experience of fighting made them realize what they were fighting for. Once, they understood that they were fighting for their worth and for what’s right, I think it made it more of an impact on them. My grandma is 88, so her experience was totally different from mine. She experienced segregation at an all-time high. My experience with segregation
I am not completely aware of race, however, I do see the world as we are there is very probable that I hold bias’s both within the Caucasian racial identity and outside of it as well. On the other hand, gender has been a predominate factor in my life, I have resisted the stereotypes of most female oriented jobs. I worked in factories as soon as my eighteenth birthday, I worked two jobs most of the time and never relied on a male for any support, I joined the Army, as the first female in my family to join the military. Also, choosing physically demanding employment opportunities. However, in the realm of income, I was always behind male counterparts, passed up for promotions, or laid-off first. Although, my paperwork always bragged about being
My perception of our world is that racism exists everywhere, even in the land of liberty, America. I am aware of the fact that there is racism against not only blacks, but also whites, Asians, along with people from all other ethnicities. I believe racism is deplorable in any form. Therefore I do my best not to be racist in any way.
The timers near the finish lines start their timers and the intense rivalries between individuals and schools start with the gun as the runners take off. The course, now filled with hundreds of hot runners, is matted down as the runners run over and trample it. Action and intense competition filled the air. The fans all crowd around the edges of the course pushing and trying to get the best view of their favorite athlete or team. The parking lot’s now packed to a max with only a few forgetful spectators running back to their cars for forgotten items. Similar to the parking lot, concessions only has a select few little children to whom candy is more important than their older siblings. Team tents vacant, except for the food and it’s wafting aroma left to be eaten after the race along with numerous numerous sweat stained smelly duffle bags. The finish line shoot, now bustling with activity, has the clock running, bustling with the activity of exhausted sweat drenched runners stumbling across it. The smell of sweat now filled the air along with the sound of the occasional cry from the medical tent which was now filled with runners who either had dropes out of the race or had already finished and hurt themselves and were in
When the end of my 5th grade year had hit; A land mark of the most traumatizing event of my life was about to take place. My mom had left my father and took us along with her. Over the summer and a few addit...
I remember it as clear as day. It had been a fairly normal week, and a routine average day. It was a Friday and I was driving home from school in my trusty Toyota Tercel. I was getting into the dreaded mental set of the game that I would be playing in that night. I had to play in the band at halftime and it was the first performance of the season. The whole ride to my house I thought about the game and hoped and prayed that we wouldn't make huge fools of ourselves. Before I knew it, I was already home. I remember thinking that it felt like the shortest drive ever, getting to beautiful Rolling Oaks. When I got home, little did I know, that there would be a huge surprise waiting for me that would change my life forever.
Going into the first race we had not expected much since Susan and I had never run this type of race. There were so many crucial things that we had to remember. It wasn't just to get out of the blocks and burn up the track; there was a baton involved, a certain amount of steps to take, and even a certain way to hold the baton.
One of the most memorable bus experiences in my life happened when I was in fifth grade. The final bell at school had rung, so I sprinted out to the bus with a few of my friends to save seats since our bus was always crowded. After we flung our backpacks into the four back seats, we ran back inside the school to buy some Mountain Dew from the pop machine in the cafeteria. After jamming our quarters into the machine and snatching the cans out of the bin, we sprinted back outside to make sure we did not miss the bus. It was still there, in all its yellow glory, so we hurried through the doors and onto the bus.
These contests typically require that students work as a team. Small contests might be a scavenger hunt during break, whereas a whole school field day is a large contest. Every student is encouraged to participate in the contests and the contest are planned to allow for different talents and personalities to excel. We vary the games between academic, artistic and athletic type events. Each year the incoming sixth grade class is sorted along with the new students to the school, while the returning seventh and eighth graders return to their same house and mentor.
It was Friday morning and I was in the 5th grade at the time. My father decided to pull both me and my brother out of school. My mother wasn’t home. She had already gone up to the hospital with my grandmother.