Last Race

Cross Country state was on Saturday in Iowa so all of the runner’s seasons have come to an end. My junior cross country season is officially over but I still have a cross country season next year to look forward to but for all of the seniors in high school cross country their career is over. I think it is very sad to think you will never get the opportunity to run a high school cross country race again but it can also be very exciting.

Many seniors in cross country have been running for four years and it’s very sad to think they will never run a high school cross country race again but it doesn’t mean they will never run another cross country race. Now that your senior year is over you have college races to look forward to if you run in college and you can always run in road races. I think the seniors can look forward to their future running career in college because it should be new and exciting.

For your last cross country high school race I think it is still important to end on a good note. It’s your last race in high school ever and you don’t want to be disappointed in your race or in your race time. A good way to end your season would be running a personal record at state. Another good way to end your season would be placing better or close to what you placed in the state meet last year. If you are unable to do either of those it would still be a good way to end your season by making sure you have given all your effort and tried your best for your last meet.

My sister placed eleventh at state this year and while she eight last year at state and ran a faster time last year, I think she is still okay with how she finished the season because she put forth all her of her effort. You could tell that she gave the race all she could because she could hardly even walk after the race. She had to have her teammates help her walk away from the finish line and my dad had to carry her.  In another race, the class 2a boy’s race, the runner who finished first finished the season off well because coming into the race he was predicted to be the second place finisher and he was able to run his best and come out first for his senior year.

I think it is important to finish the season with one of your best races or just even knowing that you gave it your all. It can be disappointing that it is your last race but you have college cross country to look forward to and you also can look forward to track which starts in the spring.

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Preparing for State

The day and even the week before the state meet can be very important to how you are able to perform at the state meet. I think it is very important because what you eat or drink or your ability to stay healthy before state can impact how you run at the state meet.

If you want to run the best you can at the state meet it’s important to watch what you are doing the week before. It’s very important to stay hydrated and drink lots of water because you don’t want to be dehydrated at the state meet. You also want to make sure you are eating healthier foods. You don’t want to be eating lots of junk food and sweets the week before state. If you are eating unhealthy and not staying hydrated before state it could cause you to run slower times.

You also want to make sure you are trying to stay healthy. Taking vitamins and avoiding other people who may be sick could help prevent you from getting sick as well. It is not fun to run when you are sick. When you’re sick you have less energy even a few days after being sick. You also want to try to avoid getting injured because many injuries will prevent you from running at state.  The week before state you should try to drink plenty of water, eat healthier and take vitamins so you are ready to run at state and can run your best.

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Why Run?

            Running is a good way to stay in shape and to exercise. I have heard that you burn one hundred calories for every mile you run. I also heard that you burn one hundred calories for every mile you walk but I still think it is more beneficial to run. Running raises your heartbeat more than if you were to walk and I think you seem to be getting better exercise when you run than when you walk because you seem to sweat more and you feel more accomplished and better after a long run than after a long walk. You can also burn more calories in less time by running than walking. You don’t even have to be a fast or good runner but running a mile will still take less time than if you walked a mile.

             While running is a really good exercise to do and is used in many sports it can still be really hard. Running without stopping for a long amount of time can be very difficult. When running for a long time you can get really out of breath and just feel like you can’t run anymore but the more often you run each week the easier running can get. So you shouldn’t get discouraged and give up right away if you are just starting to run because it should get easier. Running for a long period of time is never really easy but after running for a while it shouldn’t be as hard as when you first started. After track or cross country season I take a few weeks off and when I start running again it seems so difficult and impossible but after a few days of forcing myself to keep running anyway I can get back on track and running seems easier.

I think running is very important. Running is used in every sport that you could participate in. You have to run in football, basketball and even tennis. You may not run a lot in your sport but you still have to run at some point. The swimming team at my school even runs in practice to help better their swimming. While running may be used in every sport, cross country and track seem to be the hardest sports because you only run. Many of the other sports take a lot of different talents but cross country takes a lot of endurance. Cross country is considered to be other sports punishments because it is so hard. You may run in other sports but in cross country you have to run for very long periods of time without stopping and in other sports you seem to run then stop then run and you’re not always continuously running. Running may be difficult but it presents a good challenge and it can also be a good way to stay in shape and exercise. Running can also be very important ability because it is used in every sport.

 

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Running Family

My family is a family built up of runners. My dad ran track for three years when he was in high school and my mom ran track one year when she was in high school. My older sister is a senior and has been running track and cross country since she was in seventh grade. My younger sister is in ninth grade and has done running club, track and cross country. I have been running track since seventh grade and cross country since I was in eighth grade.

My dad was more of a short distance runner and ran a lot of one hundred meter and two hundred meter races. He also went to the state track meet a few years during his high school running career. My sisters are more of long distance runners. My older sister placed eighth at the cross country state meet last year and also placed eighth in the three thousand meters at the state track meet. I enjoy running more of mid distance races like the four hundred meter race and the eight hundred meter race and I think I may try doing hurdles in track this year.

I think it is very important to have a family that has also participated in the same sport as the one you do or one that supports you in your sport. Without my dad and my sister I probably wouldn’t be as encouraged to run cross country and track and try as hard to be my best. My older sister has influenced me a lot in my running. Without her I probably wouldn’t have every gone out for cross country or track. My sister is only a year older than me so I tend to follow in her footsteps a lot so when she choose to go out for running sports I also decided to go out for them as well. My parents are also very supportive of my running. My parents try to go to all of my meets and my dad looks up a lot of the running stats and tells me what I should be running and what my competition is. I think it is very important to have a supportive family. Without my family I wouldn’t be where I am with my running that I’m at today.

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State Meet

My cross country team has qualified for state this year by placing second in the districts meet. The meet is on Saturday and is at a golf course in Fort Dodge. The state meet is held in the same place every year so if you have gone to state before you are used to the course you will run on.

I think the state meet is a very big deal. Cross country teams have been working very hard and have been having a lot of practices throughout the season and all the effort put in will end with one more challenge, the state meet. The state meet gives your cross country team a chance to run against all of the other really fast cross country teams that you may have not had a chance to run against yet this season.

The state meet is very different than most of the other cross country races you will run throughout your cross country season. The state cross country meet has all the best runners in the state competing against each other in one meet. Your team may be used to having your top five runners in the top ten in most meets but when it comes to the state meet that can completely change. Everybody seems to start out running really fast and it’s important to not get stuck behind people when you are running.  You never know how your team may place at state until you have actually run because so many little things can affect the outcome of the race.

Seven people can run for a team in the state meet but only five of the runners are scored but the sixth and seventh runner can still be a very important part to the team.  If your team ends up having a tie with another team the tie breaker is the sixth runner of your team so your sixth runner still needs to run their best in case of a tie. Sixth and seventh runners are also important because if they finish in front of other teams top five runners the other teams will score more points than if they finished behind them and the team with the least amount of points will win the meet. The state meet can put a lot of pressure on you but it’s still important to try to run your best because you have been working hard all season to prepare for this meet and you get to compete against some of the best runners in the state.
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State Qualifying Banner

      
            At the state qualifying meet for cross country the teams that place in the first three go to state as well as the top ten individual runners. For the two years that I have been on my cross country team we have gone to the state cross country meet but only one of those years have we also gotten a state qualifying banner for qualifying for state.

            Most sports get state qualifying banners when they qualify for state but for girls cross country you have to place first at districts, the state qualifying meet. I think this is very unfair. Even the guys cross country team gets a state banner if they place in the top three and qualify but the girls cross country team has to place first. Only fifteen  cross country teams go to state for cross country so I think it is pretty big deal if you get to go and I think the cross country team should get a banner for qualifying for state even if they don't place first in districts.

            My cross country team is ranked ninth in state right now and has a good chance of qualifying for state. Our district or state qualifying meet is tonight and there is really only one team that will be major competition for us. Iowa City West is in our district and they are ranked sixth in state. We have been running against Iowa City West all season. Iowa City West has beaten us in most races though we won against them in one or two. We just raced Iowa City West last week and their team won against ours by about eight points. Tonight if everyone is running around the same times they normally run, Iowa City West will probably win and that means no banner for my team.

            Getting a banner for qualifying for state doesn’t seem like a big deal but it can be especially for the seniors on varsity for cross country. As a senior if your team gets a state qualifying banner you get to present the banner to the whole school. My sister was a junior last year and when the cross country team won a banner she wasn’t able to present it to the school because she was a junior. Now as a senior my sister was really looking forward to presenting a banner to the school and has been working very hard to do so but without placing first in districts we won’t have a banner to present to the school even if we qualify for state. It also seems to be sexist that the boys cross country team gets a banner for qualifying for state no matter what they place but girls have to place first to get a state qualifying banner.
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Alternates

In cross country seven people run in the varsity race but only five are scored. Now that cross country season is over for all of the freshman, sophomores and junior varsity runners only the varsity are still practicing. The varsity team is getting ready for the state qualifying meet and then if they qualify the state meet. The cross country team can take ten runners to state even though only the top seven actually run.  The other three runners are alternates for the state meet and only run if someone gets injured.

This year for cross country I am one of the alternates for state. Being an alternate for state can be a good thing and a bad thing. Now that I’m an alternate for state that means that my season isn’t over yet and I still have to practice with the team. The cross country season seems really long so I was looking forward to being done with practice but now I have two more weeks left.

Another bad thing about being an alternate is not getting to run in meets. I have to practice with the team for the next two weeks but I don’t even get to run unless someone gets injured and I hope no one gets injured so we can run are best at state. So now I still have to go to practice every day just in case someone gets injured and I’m needed to run. Though not having to run in the meets can also be a good thing.

I am very excited about not having to run in any meets anymore. Not running in meets kind of seems to make practicing pointless because you’re only practicing just in case something happens but it is also nice not to have to run in any meets. Running in meets can be stressful and running in the state qualifying and state meet puts a lot of pressure on you to do good so you can help your team get to state. Instead of being stressed and feeling pressured to do well I can have fun instead. I still get to go to the meets with the varsity team and have fun cheering for them with the other alternates.

Overall I think it is a good thing to get to be an alternate. While you still have to practice it is still a lot of fun to be an alternate and you can gain more experience that could help you if you are an alternate next year and actually have to run at state.