I decided to join the cross-country team at the start of my Sophomore year. I had enjoyed track for the past 3 years, and had trained some with the longer distance runners at the end of my Freshman year. I enjoyed the people and the coaches, and thought that I would give cross-country a try.
During that first year, I learned what pain truly was. It was running hills in the blistering heat until your legs and lungs gave out. It was racing in horrible wind against feirce competitors. It was running endless miles in an effort to get faster and better. But it was also knowing that you could have beat one more person, on or off the team, if only you had trained harder.
Despite that, it was also so fun to be able to run with some of the other guys. Especially during my senior year, there was a unique bond that I shared with several of the other runners. In many senses of the word, we were brothers. One runner that I formed a friendship with, though, wasn't on my team.
During my first ever cross-country race, I met a Kid named Julian Alejo. He was from a rival team, and I met him with about a half mile left to go in the race. He stuck with me for that last bit and helped me push through to the end, where I had a strong finish and beat him. I will always remember him and that race, not becuase I beat him, but becuase he was kind enough to help me when I had a need, even though he didn't know me.
As far as my actual racing goes, I was able to take off 5 minutes over 3 years. Though I had started out struggling, I worked hard and ended with a 5K time of 18:23. It goes to show that if you have a desire and put in the work, you can accomplish whatever you want to.