Barefoot running

not the same thing at all. Yes you do run competitively against other teams, however they are both very different from one another, including the distances, terrain, and how much time the meet takes. The first thing I want to point out when running cross country is the distance, for both boys and girls it is a 5k race (3.1 miles). According to Maddie Verbeke “You arrive, the gun goes off, and everyone runs the same race. That’s it. Other than differences between high school and college,…

districts. As most people know, I have run cross country since the beginning of 7th grade. Running has a lot of ups and down for me. Along with most of our teammates, I will groan when our coach says it’s Dawson workout day, one of the harder practices. Cross country isn’t always easy. That aside, I give this sport the best effort that I can, knowing I will be able to reap the benefits. My first year running, I never really made it into the top 10, and I…

About a year ago at this time, I was training for the NYC half marathon. I’d never really taken to running in my life, despite always being pretty active. This was different. After I’d recently lost my mom, running connected me to something larger. When the cold winter air came into my lungs, I knew each breath was all I needed to keep going. It allowed me a space to surprise myself and as long as I kept at it, I constantly did surprise myself-- in strength, commitment, and fortitude. It was the…

Your heart is racing, running as fast as your body will possibly allow, kicking up dirt with every aching pace. Close behind three young boys on bikes, turning back to see them gaining ground. Time begins to slow as you initiate a full blown sprint, something you’ve never been able to do because of scoliosis of spinal condition you were born with. All of this commotion was caused by simply being different, and not complying with the norms of society. This was the life of Forrest Gump,…

A very significant place to me that I’m sure I wouldn’t be the same without is the track, more so the track team at my current high school. It changed my life for the better. There may be times when I don’t feel that way, mostly at practice when we’re doing difficult and tiring intervals, core work, or even when something I really don’t want to do comes up, but if I really didn’t enjoy it then I would have quit a long time ago. Through track i developed a mindset to not give up on things easily,…

runners, 10 who are varsity and 26 who are junior varsity. The runners are between the ages 14-18. Her fastest runner Gemma is a freshman, following her is Isabelle who is a senior. This week is very important for the team on Saturday they will be running in the district meet. The goal for this meet is to place #1 in the district and qualify for regionals. In addition to their big meet, this week is homecoming week for Garland high school. Homecoming week is very busy for GHS, there is a big…

How far is pushing yourself over the physical limit? Is there a limit for how hard you should push yourself in competition? Having experienced what happens after pushing myself further than I should, I can describe the state of being physically exhausted. I have only experienced this feeling once: one year ago during my first cross-country meet in Charles City. No matter the situation, I try to achieve as high of result as I can. Whether it be in cross-country, school, or anything else in life,…

the finish line and pick an extracurricular activity or sport to balance the scales. In my case, I needed an outlet to help offset my academic work load and give me something physical and competitive to take my extra energy out on. For me that was running Track & Field.…

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, when I started running, and what I did before that, I don’t feel much like going into it though. In the first place running is a sore subject to talk about, and honestly anyone who has ever raced 5 kilometers doesn’t want to read about it. Don’t get me wrong, I love running, I really do, but it is also one of the worst things you could do. Besides i’m not going to talk you through every race…

My Sopohmore year in high school, track meant the absolute world to me. My goals that year were to win the regional title and advance to the state tracksmeet. Everyone I knew,including all my coaches, assured me my chances of receiving were very superior. I had worked incessantly towrads that objective. The whole year I was convinced I was going to win. Don't get me wrong, I stayed soft-spoken throughout the track year but, and I sure was ready to run more than ever! The regional titled I…