I got started running when I was a freshman. I got into it when one of the cross country captains approached me at the end of middle school and asked if I had heard of the cross country. I said no and he talked me into joining the team. At first, it was only for the social aspect. Then later that at the end of track my freshman year I considered quitting. I didn't really like the running part until my coach said that if I trained really hard and stuck with it I could maybe make the Griak team. Well, I took his words to heart and went for it. I trained as much as I could that summer and I made the Griak team. I was the 10th man on it and it was the proudest moment of that season until the last race. The last race was Nike Cross Heartland and I ran a huge PR there. It was a 17:33 and from the previous season was 3 minutes faster.
Track sophomore year was less successful than cross country was. I got tendonitis and had a couple inflamed nerves for most of the season and those just didn't allow me to run the times I had wanted. So I trained more. Came back in junior year cross country and dropped another minute from my 5k time. Fast forward to now. I have run races faster as a senior than I had ever thought possible as a freshman. When I was a freshman I could barely break 70 seconds for the 400 and I couldn't break 5 minutes for the 1600. Now I can run a 1:58 800 and a 4:28 1600. Both of those final times I ran this year at the South Suburban Conference meet. That meet was the best meet of my high school career both for memories and for times.
Now that I'm done with high school I'm going down to Saint Mary's in Winona this fall and I will be competing on their cross country and track programs. Through 4 years of running, I've changed immensely as a person and have developed a sense of pride in everything that I do. That mentality is largely thanks to my coaches for always believing in me and being an encouraging supportive person at races. I've started to love racing other teams. Personally, my favorite team to race was Eagan since they are always fun guys to talk to. I'm proud of the choices I've made with running but if I could go back I would definitely start to train more earlier in my career. If there are any younger runners out there reading this my advice is to stay with it. Believe in the journey and trust your coaches know what is right. Develop that bond with your teammates. As I leave I know that my teammates and coaches will be the things I miss the most from high school. Not much can break the bond formed by running numerous miles and running your heart out with the people called teammates but are really much more. Thank you, Minnesota for being a kind state for high school running!
(Photo provided by Jonathan Meaden)