My Background

     Running - it's something all of us were forced to do starting from when we were wee little things in gym class. There was always that one kid who thought they were in the Olympics, and that other kid who honestly looked like they were about to die after the first 200 meters of a warmup.

     I'm sure most people were taught to despise the very idea of running, but then there's people who actually enjoy running. I, am that kind of person.

     My earliest memory of doing some type of long distance running would be during the 6th grade track season, where we had one meet and one meet only to prove ourselves to the world. Unfortunately it got rained out and we never got to have it, but hey I'll never forget the super intense 6th grade workouts we did preparing for it!

     Anyway, junior high rolled around and in 7th grade I finally joined a legitiment cross country team. I was a middle-pack runner at the start of the season, and then one day I simply could not walk normally without collapsing. I went to the doctor and it turned out that I had Osgood Schlater Disorder.

     Since then I was always towards the back of the group, and constantly struggled with getting myself up to the top with all the other girls on my team. But I never gave up. And people noticed. I iced my knees everyday and kept on trying my hardest even if some days it hurt to run a little. And in 8th grade I finally got into the top 10 finishers in our district.

     I'm not the best runner in the world, but I'm proud of how far I've come and I strive to do better everyday. I've constantly been told that I'm "a lot better at running than I think." And maybe that's true. I just don't have the motivation to truly push my limits as far as they can go. But I've been getting better. I've been trying. And I believe you can too.