I run track for Pacific Racers. Once
you become a distance runner on my team, you are the best of the best. Once you
go on “The Run,” you are even better. “The Run” is a 2.2 mile run that I around
the neighborhood. You are not watched, so you have to be self-aware and
responsible. You could be kidnapped and no one would know. It is creepy, but
awesome. This is the time I went on “The Run.”
“The Run” or “The Loop” is a loop or a
sideways “D”. It is along Franklin High Road, which is a “U”. This was a proud
moment for me. Distance runners are the best of the best and becoming one is an
honor, but with becoming a distance runner there is endurance training. I was
transferring from mid-distance to long distance, 800m to 1500 and 1600m. This
is doubling the distance I was running, which was hard to do. It was time to
run “The Run.”
I was 9 years old at that time. I
was young, immature, and naive. I had been on the track team for 6 months.
Tasia King was one of the older girls who had been going on “The Run.” There
was also Mia Terry and Simone Abdur-Rahim. There was also two boys. Their names
were Jordan Lawrence and Marcellus Jones. The boys seemed cool, but the girls
seemed crazy at the time. I soon realized they were all kind of crazy and
weird. I liked that.
I was going to go on “The Run” and I
did not know it. Coach said, “JT, follow these guys on the loop.” I questioned,
“Where am I going?” “Just follow them and as soon as you know it,” Coach told
me, “you will be back here.” I questioned again, “Really?” He said, “Just go.”
So I followed them. Inside I was as excited as a child who was told he would
get a lollypop. I did not know it was a 2 mile run. I was so tired and I asked
them, “How much further?” They said, “We are only halfway there.” I exclaimed,
“Oh no, I'm going to die!!!” We then started to talk and run. I saw new sights:
a park, people, and a dog. I heard new sounds: cars rushing by. I felt new feelings:
the air rushing through my hair and self-pride.
It was not that bad until the end.
This is when they said, “You have to sprint in at the end and you have to stay
behind us.” I agreed. They started sprinting and so did I. They were so much
faster than me. I was tired as me at 11pm. I just started jogging, because
there was no hope in catching up to them. At the end, I realized I just ran
“The Run.” My friends asked me about it and if it was hard. They soon went on
their first runs and we were all distance runners together. We all are distance
runners to this day.
This impacted my life, because I had
to experience something new, and it made me a better runner and better person.
I was more responsible, because I was trusted to go on “The Run” first of all
my friends. Some of them were older than me. I did something they didn’t do. It
made me feel like a leader to the group. It was something I had and they didn’t
have. To this very day, I am the leader to this troop of friends. They are my
squad. I am like the Alfa wolf to the pack. This run helped me be the runner I
am today.
