Getting off of the bus
After the long night of excitement and the early morning to get to this race, I step off of the bus
on to the ground where I will be racing the race of my life. The team heads to the camp with gear in
hand in perfect silence; every step filled with anticipation for what is to come in the next couple of
hours. The feeling of the whole time before the race is surreal; we are going to run faster than we have
ever run before. We make our camp in a secluded area so we have no distractions. We came to race and
that is what we are going to do. Our shoes get checked and our spikes get put in in preparation for the
race. I grab a little something to snack on to keep up my energy so I can warm up and think about how I
am going to attack this race. Putting on my shoes I settle myself before I meet up with my team mates
to start our warm up routines and jog the course.
The Excitement
Dear Excitement,
I am bursting at the seams with what is either anxiousness or excitement. With every passing
minute it’s getting more and more difficult to try and contain this excitement. The only solution I can
find to help subdue the craving to run this race is to start warming up with the teammates. I feel so
confident I’m going to rock this race. I feel as if I was born to run this race.
Sincerely,
Luke
Warming up
The necessity to stretch
The necessity to focus
Tension in the race only produces cramps and early fatigue
I need to get as close to one hundred percent as I can to do my best.
The necessity to run
The necessity to prepare
Figuring out this course gives me a head start; it’s ingrained in my mind
I’ve got to get inside the race to defeat my own worst enemy, me.
After Warm-ups
After the warm-up my blood is pumping and my nerves are building with the anticipation for the
race. My legs are loose and I feel like I can run for miles. With the combination of the two I feel
unstoppable. The only thing standing in my way of running an incredible race right now is time but every
moment that passes is a moment closer to tearing up the course.
The Course
Navigating all of those
Turns
Hills
Woods
Dirt paths
Caution tapes
Construction cones
Packs of Competitors
Clusters of fans
At the Starting Line
I look to my left and right and the people I saw earlier didn’t seem the same. I saw friends and
competitors lost in thought, almost as if they weren’t a part of themselves anymore. It was like someone
came up and snatched the mind right out of their beings. Everyone was so focused on the task at hand;
remembering the course, their training, and their own strategies. Time to focus. I find myself sinking into
the deepest thought I have ever been in. I am focused. I am prepared. My mind is fighting to hold back
the potential energy that will only be released by the starting gun. I have a race to run.
The Race of My Life
A jolt to my heart and burst out of the line of runners.
Time to find my pace so I don’t get burned out too quickly.
Start to pick them off.
Find a pack of runners with about the same pace.
Can’t settle in a pack so increase my pace.
Remember my strategy.
Go easy down the hill.
Push it up the hill.
Stride at a good pace.
Concentrate on your breathing.
Don’t let the woods throw off your pace.
Think positive.
Keep passing people.
Do the loop again.
Remember your pace.
Whatever you do, stay strong.
Spot the finish clock.
Stay strong, you’re almost there!
Push the pace and stride harder!
Keep going!
Move your legs!
CROSS THAT LINE!
Collapse. Be happy you left it on the course.
The Greatest Race of My Life
After I finished the race I was so exhausted but I knew I had accomplished something great. The
last thing I can remember from the race is looking up at the clock 10 seconds before I crossed the finish
line and collapsing on the ground. Everyone around me was dead tired from the race and laying on the
ground except for our team who all had the best times they had ever gotten and were up congratulating
everyone. We all felt the same extreme proud feelings for each other and ourselves and so did our
coach and parents. No one could have felt more accomplished than us that day. We won’t be forgetting
that anytime soon.