"Running with the Wind" by Sean M

 

 

In 2008, my parents entered my siblings and me in a race which was a mile long or shorter and it wasn’t split into age categories. It was my brother who was two at the time in his stroller and my sisters who were three years older than me. It was crowded and I really didn’t understand the concept of races at the time so it was kind of weird seeing people bundled up, but the starting gun went off and I just took off. The course was a semicircle and towards the middle or the course I realized that I couldn’t see my siblings and ran back. There I learned that I wasn't supposed to run back in a race and just head straight to the finish line. I got 2nd place which didn’t mean much to me since I was new to running, but after seeing the 1st place kid I realized that there is always someone better. After that race I ended up becoming addicted to fast things like Dash from The Incredibles, Lighting Mcqueen from Cars, pretty much anything fast, I even had a nascar themed bed. Despite being introduced to running at a young age, I didn’t know it was an actual sport, I just always wanted to be the fastest in whatever running activity I did. Middle school made me more competitive since people were given t-shirts, if you ran a mile in 6 minutes you were given a white shirt and if you ran a 5 minute mile you were given a gold shirt. I received the white shirt in 6th grade and got the gold shirt in 8th grade. Despite increasing my speed by a whole minute I still didn’t understand the amount of training that running demanded, that was until I joined the cross country team in High School.

Being on the team taught me just how much time I need to put in running if I was serious about it. Running isn’t for everyone, most sports use it as a punishment and honestly it’s only fun when you choose to run. I root for anyone who runs, cause it doesn’t really matter how much you run or how fast you go, at the end of the day you’re a step closer to your goal. Everyone has their own reasons for doing things and for running, wanting to be the fastest was mine.I would do anything to make myself faster, I changed my diet, I ran with weights on, ran everyday not caring about the weather, but turns out that pushing yourself can actually break you. At the end of freshman year I was upset that I didn’t make finals for track and went out for a run by myself in 100 degree weather. The most essential tool in running is your form and if not properly executed you can injure yourself and that's what I did. In 100 degree weather I was exhausted from the heat and my form got sloppy and while running on the trail I took a right turn and as soon as my foot made the impact with the ground it felt like something in my foot collapsed, this injury ended up leading to more injuries and in present day it hurts sometimes to walk. I was kinda lost when I had to stop running. I was even planning to run abroad. My legs are still in a semi-injury state, but I have been procrastinating about seeing a specialist since the last one told me that I may have to choose another sport. Those words broke my heart, I ran my whole life and I couldn’t see myself not running. After that I reflected on my running career and decided there and then to stop running for the meantime and if my running career was to end there and then I was going accept it and leave without any regrets. I still cherish the memories I have from it and the people I’ve met. I still remember the feeling of my adrenaline rushing as the race officials gets ready to shoot the starting gun, the cramps I would randomly get in my legs, waiting for my event, cheering on my teammates and being cheered, seeing people get lapped, and the best one was feeling the wind as I ran. If after trying everything and if my legs have truly met their match I’ll accept it, but I can only wish that I get to experience all those things and more in the future.