It was a cold, autumn morning as I walked through the gates of Melas Park. I was overwhelmed. My heart was beating 1,000 times a minute, I was shaking, and I couldn't speak. But when someone got me talking I couldn't stop. I was silently encouraging myself as I took this all in, “I’m here, at Sectionals, I have to do well. I’m not going to let my team, my coach, and myself down. This is so important to me, I can’t fail.”

When I got to our school’s tent, I said “Hi” to everyone who seemed fairly distant and fazed by the coldness of the air and the pressure that was closing in on all of us. Underneath our sweatshirts and sweatpants we had on our Cross Country Uniforms, a singlet that was black and said our school’s name in gold and black shorts. Huddled together around the space heater, the varsity girls and I had about five blankets wrapped around us.





Our voices were silent. No one needed to say anything to know what the rest of us where thinking because our thoughts were all the same. Our nerves got the best of us. Whenever we tried to get our minds off it the conversation would just bounce back to the race we had to run in about an hour and a half.
Ten Minutes after I got there was the first time that my friends, Julia, Lauren and I engaged in an actual conversation about anything and everything.
As the day went on I kept hearing “I’m so nervous!” and “I’m going to fail!” in almost every direction I turned.
Soon Coach called us to do our warm-up. Our varsity girls’ warm-up consisted of running the course once or twice over which usually is a mile to a mile and a half. After running one mile Coach told us to stay warm and to be ready to run in about 30-45 minutes.



Eventually we started walking around, joking around, talking, and singing at the top of our lungs and very off key causing blank stares from the people around us. That was our definition of “Staying Warm.”
After about 15-20 minutes of goofing off Coach told us to go to the start line to stretch, do high knees, butt kickers, stride outs, and cherry pickers. Before I knew what was happening we were standing in box 5 of the start line while the official got the head count of the runners.
Soon after that, the official fired the gun and we were running the most important race of the season. The race that decides whether this will be our last race of the season or we have one more opportunity to prove ourselves at state. All of the runners and I ran around a baseball field, through some trees, and up a hill twice, once for each lap. One lap finished means one mile ran and one mile left to run.




While I was running I repeated words of encouragement to myself, “I run. I don’t stop. Walking means giving up and giving in. Running means I am strong and willing.” By this time I was running about an 8 minute mile I ran until I could run no more. I stopped after I was sure I was in the shoot in which they give you a card with your place on it and calculate your time. I ended up finishing in 68th place with a time of 17 minutes. I gave it all my first lap and was exhausted on the second lap. That was my mistake.
Overall I had a fairly good race. I was congratulated by my family, friends and coach. Even though I didn't go to state I knew I was still a part of something amazing.
Fast Forward-
October 12, 2013. Saturday. Sectionals. My chance to prove to my coach that he made a mistake making me an alternate. I will run until I can’t breathe.