Three miles. Some say that a cross country isn’t a "real sport."
That the race itself is just three miles long. JUST three miles. I honestly can’t even see that at all. There’s so much more to it than that.
Three miles of sweat, three miles of dedication, three miles of good planning, three miles of processed thoughts, three miles of heart and soul, three miles of long and hard strides, three miles of strength, three miles of will power, three miles of what makes you your own person.
Those three miles mean a heck of a lot when it comes down to it. You go from start to finish and there’s no giving up. You HAVE to cross that finish line. Those who are "non-runners" don’t understand it. Once you’re in, there’s no turning back. The end is your goal and you lose great self respect if you don’t achieve it.
No exceptions, no excuses.
It is what it is. The second you go beyond the starting line, you have to know what you’re in for. You have to give it all you’ve got. And you know it when you don’t. I myself have come off races in tears from pushing so hard that it hurt. And it hurt bad, let me say.
Most athletes, including myself, become very tolerant to pain. You become well acquainted with it as if it were your friend. Definitely not the kind of friend you’d be looking for though, eh? By the closing stages, you WANT your legs to hurt. You want them to feel like lead. You want them to be numb and to feel heavy. If they do, you know you’ve done your part.
Your race has to be everything to you for those 20 or so minutes during the day. You need to be looking at split times and taking them down second by second to, again, reach your goal. Whatever that may be. You want to be logical about who you’re keeping pace with. Whether it be someone from your own team or an opponent. You have to yearn for the win, crave it even. Make it something your body desires. Use this for your race. Take it to heart and go. Prove that cross country isn’t "just three miles."
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