Narrative

Santa Hustle

 

Hundreds of athletes dressed in bright red Santa shirts, festive knee high socks and fluffy white Santa beards were gathered at the starting line. Christmas music was blasting in the background while the announcer was getting everyone all worked up and ready for the race.

                “Who’s ready for the most fun 13.1 miles you’ll ever run/walk?!” The announcer asked in an excited tone.

                The crowd‘s cheers drowned out the Christmas music. My friends and I were waiting in the crowd, for what we thought was about to be the most complicated run we would ever complete. We trained for months. Mile after mile we ran, trained at cross country practice every day of the week. Sore muscles in our legs never fully recovered. However, all that was about to pay off.

                We were doing some final stretches at the start line when the announcer started counting down for the start of the race.

                “Are we ready?! 10, 9, 8, 7…” he counted.

                Nerves were taking over our bodies as we got in our starting positions, game faces on, headphones in and our fingers waiting to press the start button on our watches.

                “…4, 3, 2, 1! Santa’s, begin your race!” He exclaimed.

                Slowly but surely the crowd starts to move forward. Spectators were lining the course waiting for their family members or friends to pass so they could show their support. I was weaving my way through the other racers trying to find a comfortable pace. By the first mile marker I finally found it, I had a rhythm going and my friends running right along side of me.

                Eventually my friends and I got separated and started running at different paces. I knew that running a half marathon was going seem like I’d be running for ages, and by the time I got to the fourth mile marker I was running out of things to keep my mind busy. It got so bad that I started counting my steps, which actually made the time go by even slower.

                The air was cold and crisp. However, that didn’t stop the perspiration from forming on my face. My body was aching for water. Luckily there were “water stations” at every other mile mark and that’s not the best part. Not only were there water stations, there were also “cookie stations”. Now in my opinion, cookies and candy are the last things on my mind while I’m running. However, not everyone had the same opinion as me. The amount of people I saw eating cookies and pouring m&m’s into their mouths was unbelievable. I guess that’s just a reason it’s considered one of the most fun half marathons to participate in.

                I was about one and a half hours into the race, and I was coming up to the 10 mile mark. By now my legs are numb, I’m not even thinking about the fact that I’m still running, it’s just going through the movements. The only thing on my mind was the fact that there were only 3.1 miles to go. Although, those last three miles felt longer that the ten miles I had just ran. About thirty five minutes later I was approaching the thirteen mile mark. This was it, only .1 miles to go. Spectators were cheering; athletes that had already finished were walking around wrapped in shiny silver blankets. I could see the finish line, but by now I had barely anything to give in the end, I pushed myself harder than I thought I could and I crossed that finish line with the most accomplished feeling I’ve ever felt. My body was about ready to shut down, but when the lady at the end handed me that medal that read “Half Marathon Finisher,” I couldn’t have been more proud of myself.

                From the second I started running with my cross country team and ran my first race, I knew I wanted to be a part of something this big. For a runner, or any athlete for that matter, finishing something that you’ve trained month after month for is one of the most accomplishing feelings. However, there is no way I would have been able to do it without the support of my friends, my family and also my team members.

                In the future I plan on participating in many more half marathons, and someday I hope to run in a full marathon. Unfortunately, that means a whole lot of training coming my way, but like my old high school coach, Coach Cook used to tell us, “The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare.”