Teen's Story about Cross-Country in Nebraska

"When I first started running, I could not make it past one mile without spilling my guts all over the pavement. After a little bit of training with the cross-country team, I got the hang of it. I wasn’t the best runner, but at least I could go 3.1 miles without stopping. Then, I made the best decision of my life. I joined the cross-country team. And, with the whole school and town supporting us, it felt great. Then on September 1, race day arrived. I was sitting with the Junior Varsity when Mr. Favinger came up to us and said, ‘It’s time boys.’ Immediately, my heart started pounding so hard that it felt like it would bust out of my chest.

We walked to the line, and my legs were shaking and my heart was racing 100 mph. Looking to my team’s right, I saw a large number of Cozad supporters. At the sight of this, my worries went away. Then the gun went off. I heard a large band, and I just took off. The pack started forming. There were three main packs—front, middle, and the back of the pack. Jack, Abraham, Zachery, and I feel into the middle pack. With each step, Jack and I sped up, but with each step more pain came.

We both felt rotten but we sped up anyway because you can’t feel any worse. Then after 22 minutes of agony, we finished. I have changed a lot as a runner. I went from not being able to run 2 miles to being able to run 13 miles in a single run. Running has become a part of my life here in Cozad, and Cozad fans are into it as much as I am. All the supporters are what make each and every runner go faster."

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