Personal Narrative: Cross Country

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Barreling down the field, each step coming closer to the finish line, but at the same time, each step brings more pain. One by one, I’m singling out opponents I want to beat. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see someone approaching. My peripheral vision isn’t perfect, but I notice he’s an Ankeny Centennial runner. The black jersey burns in my eyes, and that was the point where I could have chosen to give up, or push a little harder. Sure, my time is good, and even if I lose to him, I still finish fifth. With great triumph, the competitiveness in me comes alive, and I pick up the pace. The outcome of this story is not near as important as what goes through my mind while I’m running, so I decided not to finish it. Just a heads up, this story …show more content…
I have learned so much during that sport. I’ve learned about ethics, hard work, and even how to have a good time. Cross country can teach someone how to push pass adversity and never give up. Because it is a long distance sport, there are many points where someone questions themselves about whether or not they can keep up, and not stop. For instance, we run mile repeats about three or four times a season. For those who don’t know what mile repeats are, it’s in the name. This last week I decided to try to run with A group, the top group, because I had been training hard and had been getting better times of late. I knew going into it that I was going to have to push myself hard to keep up. We started off, and I finished the first mile right in the heat of the pack, right where I wanted to be. The first mile …show more content…
Many of my friendships today are from cross country. In most friendships, people make fun of each other. A great way to see how good of friends someone is with another person is by how much they tease each other. It’s usually harmless. One of the things I am most known for on the cross country team is falling a lot. On the first trail run of my freshman year, I didn’t know what to expect. I was kind of excited because the cross country coach had always praised trail runs. We were split into groups. I was in the first group to go. We started out, and it was a little muddy, and there were many obstacles and roots from trees that I had to look out for, as did everybody. Because I was towards the back of the group, I had much less reaction time then the people in the front. The only way I could stay safe was if the people in the front called out, “Root!” Before this run, I wasn’t known as a clumsy person, but changed that thought when I wiped out, and got really muddy. Everyone laughed it off. It was no big deal because people fall every once in a while on trail runs. This was followed by two more wipeouts on my behalf. I had been branded, or labeled. Every single time on trail runs, I’ll fall at least once. The kids on the cross country team make fun of me every time, which a normal person would think was a bad thing, but it has brought me closer to them and I have become

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