Sure, everyone admires the lead pack of athletes on the course and how they can sometimes look almost effortless traversing the 5K distance sometimes at a pace under 5 minutes per mile; but, let's not forget about those other runners who are also out there running the same race.
The kid who is running his first-ever 5K. The boy who has asthma and still goes out for cross country. The freshman who doesn't really have the stereotypical body type for a distance runner and yet gives it his all each and every race. Some of these athletes find themselves toward the front of the pack by junior and senior year, and some of these runners, while they improve, have times that just don't get them the limelight of sub-17 and sub-16 minute cross country runners. But what many of these runners have is grit and that goes a long way on a cross country course.
Today we are going to put a spotlight on a few of these runners who, for the most part,...