It’s a Hill – Get Over It! By Mackenzie Laub
When I told my parents the summer going into seventh grade that I wanted to run cross country they looked at me like I had four heads. I told them that it was something that I wanted to try and it would keep me in shape for my other sports. They supported me and they dropped me off at my first summer run practice. I did not know what to expect, all I knew was that it would be a lot of running. I had all the equipment for it. All I needed was a pair of sneakers and believe me I have plenty of those. What no one told me was all of the hard work that went into the sport. For those who say, “all you do is run, how difficult can it be?” are wrong because there is so much more to it than running. In my opinion running is a mental sport. It's all about having a strong mindset to go get that girl in front of you crossing the finish line or having the strength to finish a race without walking.
I learned very quickly that cross country was more than just running. I had to learn how to breathe properly, maintain a pace, and how to tackle hills. Something else I learned was that stretching is imperative before and after races. I was never one to ever stretch before exercise and that’s one reason as to why I am not very flexible. I learned that if you do not stretch and do a cool down run after a race, you will feel absolutely terrible the next day. All of the lactic acid will build up in your muscles making your entire body feel horrendous.
My favorite part of cross country was running the last four hundred meters of every race. This is where you break out into a dead sprint to try and pass as many people as you possibly can. I learned to reach deep within myself to find the last bit of energy that would push me to the finish line. This is where mental strength becomes an important
part of the sport. Something I found very different in this sport was that it is more about your individual performance rather than a team. Every week you would go out and try to beat your time from the week before.
As much as cross country was an individualized sport, the team felt like a family to me. Everyone always supported each other through every race and you always had someone cheering you on. I am very thankful for all of the amazing coaches that I had. Coach Gillespie and Coach O’Neill were my first two coaches. They had a great amount
of knowledge of the sport. They were the first coaches to teach me all the ins and outs of running. Coach Sorrentino and Coach Marakovits always pushed me to do my best and be successful in every race.
When I got to high school I had the pleasure of running for Coach Lelko and Coach Fabian. These two are the best of the best and they have been doing it for many years. I could not have asked for better coaches than these two. Their experience and expertise in this sport helped me improve my game. Not only did they make the team work very hard day in and day out pushing us to our limits running Peach Bottom on a Saturday morning at eight am but they also somehow made it fun. I have so many amazing memories from them but my all time favorite was finding Whitehall rocks on the Ironton Rail Trail during our runs. It was like going on an egg hunt that turned into a competition of who can collect the most rocks. I must admit, I found a lot of rocks over the years and have quite the collection on display in my bedroom. My favorite rock I found was one that is painted like a turtle.
Who would’ve thought the sport that I signed up for to keep in shape would become a sport I fell in love with. I qualified for districts all four years, ran in four league races, and even came in the top five for the girls race at DeSales my freshman year. I was given the honor of rookie of the year during my freshman year and was honored to be the scholar athlete my senior year. Joining cross country was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The skills I learned in this sport are everlasting. For those of you who think cross country is just running you are wrong. It is a lot of physical and mental strength. I challenge you to get out there and run.
Remember it’s just a hill, get over it!
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
