year along with the boys team. We didn't stand a chance at doing well at that level of competition, but it was amazing watching the boys team win the State Championship!

Fall 1999: By my last year of cross country, the team had grown quite large. The talent pool was deep and, while I was no longer a scoring member during most meets, I enjoyed training and competing with such a large group of like-minded runners. The comaraderie of the team was one of the few things I would miss about high school.

Some of the members of our team have gone on to do great things athletically. Quite a few have competed professionally in various sports, and some have represented the USA in the Olympics (even bringing home theturns out that the girl was, in fact, the younger sister of my old friend and teammate. After the race we reminisced about the old cross country course (she had joined the team the year after I graduated), and our coaches. Here we both were, many years later, both still running. I hope, 10 years from now, I'll still be running.

Monday, October 15, 2012

5:00 a.m. The temperature outside is 32 degrees, the first frost of the season. The synchronized alarms beep in our bedroom and the guest room where my parents lay sleeping. We all stumble out of bed and begin the process of getting dressed and ready for race day. Oatmeal is made, coffee is brewed, and bagels are toasted. Steve and Dad deliberate over how many