Laying on my back, the grass felt cool against my skin. I brushed my fingers across each blade ever so slightly, tingling all 10 tips of them. The loud noises of runners crossing the finish line and spectators cheering blared in the background. These noises soon settled into a faint whisper, though only inside my head. Confusion. My mind was spinning in a million different directions. I concentrated on my thoughts and tried to make sense of the situation. Where was I? Had I finished the race? Why was no one helping me? Nothing seemed to make sense. At the moment, I could only focus on the big, fluffy white clouds above my head. Before I knew it, my eyes felt heavy and then quickly flickered shut. When I opened them, the sky was directly in my view. As I gazed above, questions poured into my mind. I wondered how I was able to find the energy to keep running and the drive to push me through the pain, I wondered how I had become lucky enough to have the endless support from my teammates, my coach, and most of all, my parents. The feeling of gratitude washed over me and I had such a powerful moment right then. It may seem far-fetched, but those clouds that lingered over my head gave me a so called “epiphany". I had a major personal realization and could confidently answer some of my prior questions. I knew now that it was not just luck that I had, but the love from God. My faith is what gives me the strength and is what helped me to finish through all 3.1 miles of my race. I then took a minute to shut my eyes again and to thank God for all of the blessings that He has given me during this race and throughout my life. I also thanked him for making me feel immensely lucky through and because of his love. My eyes opened for a split second, noting how beautiful the clouds looked, and then flickered shut yet again. In that moment, I found the strength to replay my race.

I looked down at my spikes, checking them for the hundredth time to make sure that they were tightly tied. We had five minutes before the girls cross country regional meet division 1 varsity race would begin. This race would determine whether or not our team would go to the state meet. We were all under a lot of pressure and wanted to do the best we could for each other. After warming up and stretching, my team and I did our final runout. We were beyond ready to run. My nerves slowly grew as I looked around at all of the teams who were standing strong and tall. Emily, my twin sister, gently placed her hand on my shoulder. She gave me a big smile that somehow was able to calm me down. Emily is the one person who knows exactly what to say without needing to say anything. I gave a big smile in return, matching hers.

She asked me, ¨Are you ready?¨
I replied, ¨Yes, we can do this. Just try your best and run your hardest. Give it your all.¨

The pre-race talks with Emily always make the start of races so much easier, although they are never easy.
The race official yelled into his megaphone,

“It’s time to take your sweats off ladies!”

My legs shook from the frigid cold when I look my sweatpants off. I jumped up and down in the air, trying to shake the goosebumps off. I pulled my winter coat off with resistance and squeezed it into the tiny team warm-up bin, located directly behind the starting line. In the attempt to stay warm, I kicked my legs back and forth and shook my arms about. All 7 of my team members were wearing yellow jerseys, specifically for this race. I prepared myself by placing my foot behind the white line, my right foot was in front and my knees were slightly bent. My body leaned forward, in position to run. The course was flat, so I already knew that the first mile would be fast. We anxiously waited for the starting-gun to go off.

The starting official prepared to start the race, he used his microphone again and yelled,
“On your mark, get set”

and then, in the next second, he shot the gun into the air, “BAM.” All of the runners sprinted, trying to find their position. I was pushed and shoved, but quickly settled into my spot near the front of the pack. With all of the commotion taking place, I forced myself to think positively. It’s only 3 miles, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. The ground was uneven and the corners were tight, which made turning very difficult. There were girls all around and many of them were much larger and taller than me. Although this was the case, I knew that I would not let it slow me down. After the first half mile, I really started to find my pace. Around every corner was my coach, telling me my position and how I was doing. My dad was also around every corner, snapping pictures and cheering me on. Other teammates of mine were spread out around the course, screaming for me and holding up the signs that they made for us. I could hear my mom in the row of spectators and although I couldn’t see her, I could hear how proud she was of me in her voice. All of this helped me during the race and pushed me forward.
The race was beginning to become both mentally and physically tough. Just before the mile, the course led me into the woods. In the woods, there were close to no spectators. Because of this, I had to control my mind along with its thoughts, and continue to keep positive thoughts circulating. I asked God over and over to help me and to give me the strength and energy to complete my race. The verse,“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” was repeating in my head. This is a common thing for me to do and I have found that it helps incredibly. While I ran, the atmosphere was beautiful and the trees were glistening with golden red and orange leaves. I could hear the crunch of the leaves under my feet as I tried to pull away from some of the runners next to me. The dirt in the woods was soft and hard to run on. I kept running and tried to maintain my pace as best as I could. As I popped out of the woods, spectators came into view and cheered me on past the two mile mark. I had a little over one mile left. My pace started to quicken and my body was becoming numb. I had to go through the woods once more and then loop around a corner until the finish line was in sight. On the Regional course, the finish line was on the track. My spikes dug into the grass and once they finally were on the track, I moved my legs as fast as they could go. It didn’t feel like I was running, my body had become completely numb. My heart was racing almost as fast as my body, it pounded in my chest as I sprinted the last 300 meters to the finish. I could see the clock counting up, I just wanted it to end.

Somehow, I managed to make it to the finish line, completing my 2nd to last 5k in my cross country season as a freshman. I crossed the line at a time of 19:12, a new personal record for me. I came in 14th place, which would qualify me individually for states. I didn’t know if our team had made it. Exhaustion started to take over and because of this, I was starting to lose control of my body, my thoughts. Nothing seemed real anymore.

My body was in pain, I was trying to escape the burning in my chest, the spinning of my head, the ache in my ribs, and the voice in my head. I took one more step and tried to steady myself. My legs were wobbling from beneath me, I held on to the banners so that I wouldn’t fall over. Had I just raced? Was I done? I thought to myself. I slowly walked out of the shoot and then toppled onto the ground. I gave it my all, to the point where I could no longer stand.

I was not sure how long I had been laying on the grass for, but when I opened my eyes, the familiar fluffy white clouds were in my view yet again. I had a rush of relief as I remembered what had happened and felt an abundant amount of pride for what I had just accomplished. I looked to my left and saw runners running through the finish line. My legs were stretched out, ice-cold, and covered in goosebumps, just as they were before the race. My spikes were mud filled and blood stained. I pulled on the grass, trying to help myself stand, my body was so tired. The paramedic ran over to me and helped me up. My teammates saw me struggling and jumped the fence, rushing to help stable me. The paramedic soon had to leave me in order to help other runners who were falling. She was resistant to leaving at first, unsure of my stability, but my teammates ensured her that they would take care of me. I was pale, ghostly pale, and extremely dizzy. I saw my mom and dad run towards me and once they reached me, both of them squeezed me into a tight hug. I had to get back to the team tent, my dad offered to carry me, in which I turned down and insisted that I could walk on my own. This thought was short lived after stumbling within my first few steps. My parents helped me, placing my arms around their shoulders as they guided me towards the tent. Once I arrived, I was surrounded by support and kindness, everyone tried their best to help me recover.

Time passed as my team and I waited in our tent for the awards, I wanted to go to states with all of my heart. My coach thought that we were in 3rd place as he made his way to check the result board. Upon returning back to the tent, he had a huge smile on his face and announced that we won first place! This meant that we were regional champions and that we qualified for states! All of my hard work during the summer, in practice, and in this race was worth it. I was glad that I had worked so hard and that I ran as hard as I possibly could have. In all of my cross country races, I have never pushed myself harder. I looked up at those fluffy white clouds one last time and thanked God for the wonderful outcome. I thanked Him for helping my team. I thanked Him for giving me the ability to run. I thanked Him for making me the luckiest girl in the world.