This was my eighth season running cross country. I started running in fifth grade, and continued only because my parents forbade me from quitting. (After all, running hurts a lot when you're not in shape whatsoever.) I had a couple of good role models in middle school (I was big on role models for a long time) so I kept it up and actually improved a lot. I was on the "A team" in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, and in eighth grade, I was the girls' captain (they elected one girl and one boy). That was pretty fun.
I run because I really like being with the team, and getting to spend a few hours each day with the cool people who choose to run. Running also gives structure to my life--I know each day what kind of exercise I will be doing, what its purpose is, and how I need to conduct the rest of my life to allow for that. There's also the mind-over-body aspect of running--the times when I've just run so many hill repeats or 400-meter intervals, and my legs are so tired that I can't possibly move them any faster, but then I have the sudden inspiration to pass the person in front of me, and suddenly I can. Moments like that prove that yeah, running really can teach you about the rest of life.
This year, I will be a co-captain, with Flora MacIvor. We have the most girls ever (I think) running on the team this year, 29, which is pretty amazing. And they're all really nice, which is not amazing, because that's the way runners are, right?
There is a plaque on the wall of the indoor track, known as the Hall of Fame. Any PEAGXC runner who completes the course in under 19:00 gets her name carved into the board. Mr. Parris keeps our site extremely up-to-date, so check it out!
