"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." -Pre. Cross Country is a sport that requires pushing oneself through immense pain to achieve a goal. I never wanted to go through any of those pains to achieve anything. I used to think that I was going to participate in an after school activity for fun, but then my cross country team won the state championship meet, now I know I can do anything I put my mind to. Nothing was extraordinary about my life. I was just a normal ninth grader on the junior varsity cross country team. My times were not that great, so I had no intention of running varsity at all. We had a Saturday meet at Walker, but only the top seven varsity girls were going to compete. One of the girls, who was also a …show more content…
I know it is going to be painful and all mental. We are the underdogs going into the race, so we know we had to prove everyone wrong. It is time to line up at the starting line. We say our prayer. I cannot help but cry because I am so proud of this team. We have worked all year for this moment, and we are ready to give it all we have. The time has come to start the championship race. I have my hand on my watch ready to track all of my mile splits. The starter points the gun toward the sky, "Runners take your mark." I did not even hear the gun go off. The first four hundred meters are all sprint that I cannot feel my legs. I know I have to make my way toward the front to stand a chance in this race. My first mile is seven flat. I hold a good pace, but I know I cannot let anyone pass me up. The cold air gives me a rush, and I keep the same pace for the second mile. I look to the front of the pack, and I see our top four girls in the top ten spots. I get excited, but I cannot let it get to my head. Mile three is rough. My lungs were starting to burn, and the race starts to get all mental. "Am I strong enough for this? Did I train