Running My Heart Out

In life, you get many shining moments. Many of these are magnificent, although you have one that stands out greater than the others do. This moment makes you exceptionally proud of all the hard work you did to get there. This is your greatest accomplishment. We all have one. A time where you have reached to the brightest star in the sky to get there.

As a freshman in high school, I was extremely out of shape. My older brother Scott was a cross-country runner for Dubuque Senior High School when he was a teen, and he was a great influence on me. In July of 2006, I went to my very first off-season practice to see what it would be like if I joined the team. I loved my teammates, and as I observed my coaches, they seemed wonderful. We went on only a 2 mile run that day, which seemed to take forever, since I had to walk quite a bit of it. That day was hot and humid, and when I got to the end, I was too tired to even walk. Something inside of me though, told me that this was where I belonged in high school, so I stayed on the team.

As the season went further on, I got better and better, becoming one of the top runners for my freshman/sophomore team. My time in the two ½-mile race dropped dramatically from 21 minutes into the 18-minute range. I was ready for more competition. Nothing could slow me down now, or so I thought. My junior year came around and I was ready to have the best season yet. I started with a great three races, until we were running on Grandview for practice one day and I noticed something in my foot that started to hurt. I ignored it, which is the worst thing to do. When I got back to school, I put ice on it and rested. My foot only got worse and more swollen. I went to the doctor who took x-rays. It ended up that I was now in contact with a broken foot. I sat out the rest of the season, but never missed anything and I always acknowledged my team.

My senior year rolled around and I wondered how I would do since I have not run in months. I noticed that I was a little slow in practice. All I could do was to keep on running, only to hope that I would be amazing by the time of my first race. Nothing changed; I was back to the start again, except that nothing got better as time went on. I had the best races that I could have, and tried my hardest. My coach was always saying encouraging words, and never put any part of the team down. He told me that he was very proud that I decided to hang in and finish my final season instead of quitting. I got my major D, and accomplished something that I never thought possible.

We, as people sometimes think that we cannot do certain things. There will always be setbacks. Nevertheless, you always have to keep pushing to break through that barrier. When you get to the other side, you will feel great. We all have different accomplishment’s that make us and the people around us proud. Search within your heart, and never give up.