Structure:

Physical attributes of track

Relate that to your love for running

Start explaining the moments building up to the race and your negative feelings

Bring up the quote

Title: What Goes Around Comes Around

Context: I ran track and field at my former high school and learned to think about the sport,
and my many experiences running at McKinleyville High School, in a way where I was able
to learn about the importance of dedicating yourself to the things that make myself happier
in life and to prioritize perseverance and effort in those things.

The track at McKinleyville High School served as more than a place to polish my running
skills. After finishing sixth period English, I would perform a brisk walk through the outdoor,
concrete hallways and make my way towards the chaotic parking lot to get dressed for my
track and field practice. By the time practice came around fifteen minutes after the bells
rang, I walk with my teammates towards the locked gate that would normally be open and
lead us to the shed where everyone meets for practice. As we hop the tall fence, our walk to
the shed features the beautiful redwood trees surrounding the faded crimson red track,
vacant for the use of the track and field team. The white lines separating the lanes had
grown dim over time and the painted numbers were barely legible to the naked eye. The
interior of the track had been recently renovated due to cleat marks from previous sports
games tearing up the grass, making it nearly impossible to utilize. As we took the track for
our warm up lap to begin practice, listening to the sounds of shoes hitting the rubber with
each step and creating a rhythm and cadence that resembles music to the ears. After we
completed warmups, our coach gave us words of wisdom to carry into our daily workouts
that inspired us to connect the art of running to the vast depictions of life outside of the
sport. Often, I would ignore the message as I was more inclined to learn how to perfect my
physical craft rather than build extra knowledge regarding future life circumstances. Jim, my
cross country coach, made that clear to the team as he was there to make sure that the
sport we all loved had a dual-purpose; physical and mental growth. Of course, he wanted
the team as a whole to succeed in the physical sport and win races and for individuals to be
able to have a legitimate future with the sport in college and beyond. However, he
emphasized the importance of a more long-term, indirect benefit of connecting with
teammates, sharing laughs, and working together as well as individually to achieve
something that otherwise could not be achieved without hard work, dedication, and
perseverance.
Early in an important track meet held by our school, I would think too much about how a
physical race defines me and who I could possibly be as simply a runner or an athlete and
how others would perceive who I was. In often noticing my struggles mentally, my coach
walked over to me after my first race of the meet and said “People love you for who you are,
not what you do”. Later into the meet, I had an 800 meter race that I was warming up for
and I kept repeating what he had said in my mind because I had put so much unwarranted
stress on myself from a mental standpoint to be the best runner I could be. Although
winning the race was still the primary goal, understanding that I am more than a runner
gave me a sense of relief when approaching the starting line, and ultimately gave me more
success on the track. I was able to accomplish a personal record in the 800 meter race and
become county champions against my rival high schools as a team.