AAA Award Program Essays
2007-8 School Year
These are the winning essays in the High Desert Runners AAA Award Program for highschool cross country runners.
Why I Love Cross-Country
by Ashlee Brown, Highland High School
Running is an important piece in my life. I love running cross-country for many reasons: running on the team gives me a sense of belonging. I also love it because I feel like I have accomplished something great in my life. The way I get to see nature around me and share the same experience with my other teammates is wonderful. Last because we all have an equal opportunity in doing the same thing. Cross-country is not just running to me. It is something where you can learn things and grow from them. It is a sport where any person can have this learning experience just as I am now.
When you are part of a team, whether it is running or kicking a ball, you should always feel like you belong there. This is how I feel being part of Highland's cross-country. I feel like the entire team is one large family. We always plan to do things together and the team feels united. Everyone on the team gets along with one another and it makes me feel good that I am a part of such a wonderful group of people.
Completing a workout at practice or finishing a race gives me a sense of accomplishment. It helps me know that I can do anything if I put my heart into it. It challenges me to get better. When I hear shouts of encouragement it makes me do better and I feel good about what I am doing. Winning a race is not everything to me; all that matters is that I did my best.
As I run through the trees and on trails I feel wonderful. Running with nature and in the quiet puts me in a different setting, where I am free. Cross-country allows me to do something different everyday and not run up and down a field or around in circles. By running together I am able to share nature with my teammates.
My final reason for loving cross-country is because each person on the team does the same thing. We each do the same workouts and we all run the same race. Whether that one person is all the way in the front or in the back, those two people have completed the same course. Running is a sport of equality.
I have come to love cross-country very much. I feel I have become a better person. I feel like I belong and have a sense of accomplishment. Running with nature allows me to share experiences with others and be on an equal footing with them. For my teammates and I, running is a win, win situation.
by Eric Duvall, Boron High School
Cross Country is my passion because it is unique. Cross Country isn't about winning; Running is about you. Running on that path, whether with a group, or by yourself, you don't have to "win". I love to run because I can be free. I don't have to worry about where my helmet is or what guy I have to beat, I can just relax, and feel good. I run Cross Country, not to beat people, but to be myself. Cross Country, though a competitive sport, isn't about the competition. It's about self-betterment. When I get ready for a race, I'm not thinking about winning, I seldom am the lead runner, but I am thinking about improving. I run to get better. I run to feel better. I run because only I can make myself perform better than the last race. The gun blows, and I'm not worried about taking the lead. If! do, that's fine, if I'm in the back of the pack, that's just as good. I'm running to run. I love Cross Country because no matter who you are, you can do it. You can be a huge, muscular beast of a person, or you can the smallest person in your class. ANYONE can win a Cross Country race, I've seen every type of person take the lead.
When I run Cross Country, it's not about getting a medal, beating other people, or anything but simply the sake of running. I love improving my time, but I run to run, and if! do better, that's great, but if! don't run a faster time, it was still a blast running! I enjoy Cross Country over other running sports because of the environment. I get to run in awesome places, from up hills to heavy forests. Even in our league, High Desert, there are still SO many different types of courses. Sure there will be times when I'm exhausted, tired, dripping with sweat, but I can look around, and see how awesome life is. What a beautiful world we live in; it makes running all that much more enjoyable. When I throw on my running clothes and shoes, I may be stressed, but I won't be soon thereafter. I stretch a bit, warm up a little, and take off. All the pain drifts away, and I enjoy my life. If I'm sad or mad, no matter what, I can throw on my running shoes, and run the pain away. Whether I'm in a race of200 people, orjust running on my own in the evening, it's the same. Sure the physical strains may be different, but to me, running is running. Cross Country, no matter where it is, is just simply.. Awesome.
I look at other sports, and by far Cross Country is the most demanding. It requires
high amounts of stamina, determination, dedication, and a love of something most people
are unwilling to do; being able to push themselves. I love Cross Country because it's all
you. Sure running with other people may influence your time on the run, but it was still
all you. You've got your team, sure, and they're awesome motivation, but you, no one
else, decides to try a little harder. You pick up the pace a little bit, and run better than you
ever have before. No matter who you are, no matter whereyou live, no matter what the
weather, it's all up to you. And that's the main reason I love Cross Country; you have the
joy ofteam unity, the excitement of competition, but no matter who you are, you can
enjoy running, and being surrounded by an awesome environment, with pleasant people,
encouraging coaches, and beautiful surroundings.
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