Personal Narrative: My Life In A Cross Country

I am in complete isolation hearing only the sound of my breathing and insects in the brush surrounding me. Suddenly, I hear footsteps approaching from behind. A second later, the top boy on the cross country team runs past me verifying my fear of being the slowest runner. While every practice the high school girls run in a pack, this would remain a dream to me. Humiliated and disheartened, my summer was spent in a solitary trudge. While I was oftentimes upset that I couldn’t keep up with everyone else at cross country, it gave me a unique opportunity. Whenever someone joked about being slow in anticipation of a hard workout, I would respond with something along the lines of, “Well, you can’t be as slow as me!” If someone complained, “I can’t do this today! I’m running eight minute miles!” I would respond, “I

While most girls were setting goals around 21 minutes, I was still working towards 25 minutes. During races, as I saw the team run into the distance and was tempted to run much faster than my pace, I focused in on setting my own goals. Gradually I dropped time totaling in a nearly six minute difference from my last to first race! Before cross country season started, a mere mile felt impossible. Now, I was able to run three miles consecutively. I never cut a workout short and never complained to coach. I have always been an overachiever in academics, so my persistent attitude carried over to cross country. While some students would walk during town run days, I never let myself submit to dishonesty. I ran with the fastest girls on the team. What was an easy run to them, was an exhausting workout to me. Overall, cross country was the largest physical challenge I have faced, but gave me an immense sense of accomplishment and has built the skills of persistence, integrity, maintaining a sense of humor, and healthy living. I decided to continue my athletic challenges by joining track this