Running

Running was a commitment I forgot to put on my list. I've been trying to catch up with the cross-country (x-country) team for the past little while. I've been in a few races, including regionals last week and provincials today. I was average at each. I've never really cared very much about placement or competition.

Running was at the bottom of my list for a few reasons. The first is that it was a long list of important things (entertainment is an attempt to keep me sane). Second is that I've been busy and haven't had the schedule. And most importantly is that what I knew is gone.

When I joined the team in 2006, it was a team of several main members who I came to know as the core team. I was in grade nine at the time, not at Riverview, but my school lacked a team so I trained with them. I was horrible when I started out, little more than in shape but I stayed with it.

Eventually members disappeared, starting with our star sprinter who got obsessed with his job. Then our strongest female runner slowly vanished. Our two rivalling top runners graduated but one stayed behind to help out. Then we took on a whole new group, but it gets to complicate to include them and few of them were ever as involved. When I went away, the last two girls and the guy who stayed behind all left. By the time I got back, all the rest had graduated except for some of the younger talent.

To sum it up, it was a very social team, but those who I know are gone, including the coaches. I could even go into love triangles (and even squares) but that's personal, extremely so.

I still run. I consider it a valuable skill, it's why I joined in the first place. Now though, I've nothing to run for, with or to. This seems to be the conclusion of a lot of my entries, but for now and the foreseeable future, it seems the truth.

Also, I've not yet decided whether to run with the track team. I'll be too old to enter competitions and I'm not sure if there's much point in simply running with a team of strangers, or if I'll even be allowed.

I'll end this on a lighter note to say that I'd still brush the dirt off my shoes anyday to run with the girl in pink shoes (regardless of the colour of your current pair).