“Beat Gunn.” “2nd place.” “States, states, states.” These were the words we chanted day in and day out. They were the core to our never ending motivation, the essence of our growing endurance.
These words were the driving force that summarized our goal: to qualify for the state meet of the 2011 cross-country season. It was this goal that brought myself and six other girls, Katie Foug (‘15), Sophia Robinson (‘15), Audrey DeBruine (‘14), Chika Kasahara (‘13), Jessica May (‘12), and Rachelle Holmgren (‘12), together.
The season started out as it always does, with the first race in the Gunn High School preview meet, in early September. It is a meet where the upperclassmen runners stand out for their carefree spirit that only comes with experience, and where the freshmen show us all what they’re made of. And this year, they really did. Foug emerged with the best time of the meet, and took her spot as our fastest runner. This simple meet, one so unimportant that team uniforms hadn’t even been assigned yet, was where it all began.
The seed had been planted. The tiny sliver of hope that was our dream to go to states formed here, as we realized the true potential of our team. If we worked together and kept at it everyday, we truly believed we had a shot at making this title.
And our reasons were noble. We felt that with the work we put into the sport, with the daily runs that resulted in blistered feet, aching legs, and an incessant need to stretch, had never been fully appreciated. Cross- country was barely noted as it stands next to the glorious volleyball and football teams. But we put in the time and energy too, didn’t we? This was our time to shine. And so we ran. We ran, and we ran, and we ran.
Finally, after a great many races and an uncountable amount of miles under way, the CCS race arrived, on Nov. 12. All week long, each and every one of us felt the nervous waves of excitement coarse through our bodies as we waited in anticipation for the race. We hydrated, ate well, and devoted every free hour to sleep.
And when the time came, we raced our hearts out. But luck wasn’t on our side today; we knew we all needed to perform our absolute best to qualify. We were well aware of our competition, and we acknowledged that the odds weren’t in our favor. But we believed. And on Saturday, that just wasn’t enough. One of our runners cramped up during the race, and two others, myself included, just weren’t at their best.
When the results came around, they weren’t a surprise. We placed sixth, one point away from fifth, but four spots away from our goal. It was a crushing reality. And yet, as we all regrouped around the finish line, the disappointment didn’t last for long. We huddled together, arms in arms, and congratulated each other on our races, and promised each other not to take any blame for the placement.
This loss brought our team together in a way I couldn’t have imagined. I had always figured that the goal of qualifying for states was something that brought us together, but never appreciated the true power of the bonds we developed. The failure we faced tested our strength as a team, but proved our power together.
While the whole team didn’t make it to states, as we had so adamantly hoped it would, Foug did make it. Tomorrow, we will continue to train with Foug and support her, because she now represents that dream we had, and she will make it a reality for all of us.
We didn’t qualify for states, but we came together in a way more meaningful than any one race. And anyway, next year, we’ll be there.
