Over the course of my high school career, I have been asked countless times what I participate in when that final bell rings. I tell them I run. This answer is usually met with wide-eyed disbelief and the iconic response of “Why? What provokes you do you do that to yourself??” Sometimes I ask myself that same question.

It’s hard to describe to a “non-runner” what motivates someone after a rigorous day of glorious learning (especially in my favorite English class taught by the wonderful and sophisticated Mrs. Bush) to slip on a pair of fetid tennis shoes and sprint five miles up a steep hill. Your muscles burn with intensity, your chest aches in desperation, you’re gasping for breath and your mind keeps asking you that iconic question, what provokes you to do this to yourself? The answer is what you experience once you reach the top. The feeling of accomplishment and self worth outweighs all the pain you have endured. To me, that’s what makes running worth it. There’s a discipline and a focus that comes with it that cannot be taught, only practiced. It takes a special quality inside oneself to keep pushing when everything is telling you to stop. The weather may range from 30 to 90 degrees, the course may be full of mud up to your knees, and that little voice in your head may be screeching “you can’t do it,” but a runner continues on.

This hard work, and shared goals, form special bonds that can only be created through a sport such as Cross Country. It’s not all about winning, but growing together as a team and as an individual. I will never forget seeing this in action during our recent cross country meet. There was a competitor running last in the race. She was extremely far behind and the crowd had dispersed. Her team was gathered around in support, cheering and running with her. They were determined to see her through this race. Though this was not my team, they embodied the true sport of running. That’s why I am so proud to be a part of it.

Running is the ultimate metaphor for life because you have to experience hardships in order to reach your potential. Running has taught me so much about myself and has made me the person I am today. So when someone asks my why I run, I answer, “How could I not?”