Life on the run

After a good night’s sleep, it’s finally meet day. Even though your gear is already packed, you wake up feeling antsy. You’re still full from your carb-loaded spaghetti team dinner last night. You groggily get ready and head off.

Photo above: Katie Severt ’19

Despite having huge races later in the afternoon, you still have to force yourself to go to school. During class, your mind begins to wander. The anxiety starts to kick in. “I’m nervous all day during school, and I do find it hard to focus,” said Katie Severt ’19, a sprinter. “I always think about the things I need to work on such as pushing off the blocks harder and my arm movement.” Time seems to stand still as the day drags on. Tick tock. Tick tock. Now you’re just watching the hands on the clock go round and round, as if they are little runners on an endless track.

After what feels like ages, you arrive at the track and get settled in. It’s time to go full on track mode. You pop your earbuds in and listen to your favorite music and do anything you can to calm your nerves. “I try to laugh with my teammates because laughing just takes a lot of the stress off each other,” said Bailey Nock ’18, a long distance runner. About an hour before the meet you start lightly jogging and stretching to warm up. The seconds keep ticking away, and the pressure keeps building as it gets closer to the start. You meet as a team to encourage each other and get your head in the game.

Photo above: Bailey Nock ’18

It’s finally showtime. The butterflies in your stomach are going crazy, and your jitters are increasing by the moment. “I take really deep breaths and blur out the rest of the competition because I can only control my race and no one else’s and I just need to do my best,” said Peyton Steva ’19, a hurdler. On your mark… Get set… BANG! And you’re off. You run like your life depends on it. Your legs feel like they’re going a thousand miles an hour. All your nerves and anxiety is gone. Your only thoughts are run, run, RUN! All your hard work and tough training leading up to this moment is finally paying off. Your heart is racing, and you are completely winded. “My favorite thing is when I pass the finish line and I’m completely exhausted because even if I didn’t get first place I know I left all I could out on the track and it’s an amazing feeling,” Steva said.

Photo above: Peyton Steva ’19

Even though you are absolutely worn out, you still have a long night ahead. “After I run an event the positive enthusiasm of my teammates gets me motivated for the rest of my events,” said Severt. The moment the crowd roars louder and everyone is just a bit more excited is when you know it’s time for possibly the most exhilarating events of the meet: the relays. “We do this thing before every relay where the first three runners of the relay have to kiss the baton and the anchor person has to lick it,” said Nock.

The sun has gone down, and you’re under the bright lights now. You’ve got three other girls depending on you which makes you run even harder. But, at the end of the meet whether you win or lose, you have to feel proud of yourself and your team. You don’t have any regrets because each girl gave it her all. Everyone ran their hearts out. Your team runs a few cool down laps and then you come together for one final team meeting to compliment each other on the great races and outstanding achievements.

You’re utterly exhausted and you feel like a car in dire need of gas. At last, you get home and flop onto your comfy bed. You drift off to sleep with a smile on your face because you know that in just a couple of days you get to relive the excitement all over again.

For more photo coverage of the track meet, check out our Flickr album below: