During the summer of my freshman year in high school, my dad made me go out for this sport called cross country, so I could get in to shape for basketball. Going in, I thought cross country was one of the dumbest sports anyone could ever do. I mean, who actually enjoys running up to ten miles all at one time? Unfortunately, I can now say that I enjoy this thing called running. One of the best things that ever happened to me in my high school career was cross country. Whether it's the people I met, or the traits I acquired, running has undoubtedly changed my life for the better.

The best part about cross country, for me, was the people I met. For my first career cross country practice, I was put in a practice group that had many of the kids I looked up to while growing up in Ankeny. One of the kids was Todd Vogel. He was a well known athlete in Ankeny. He was a phenomenal pitcher who currently plays for Kansas State. Also in that group of about twelve, were Josh Boersma and Kris Spoth. Josh ended up being the school record holder for cross country at Ankeny, and Spoth was the definition of hard work that I've come to appreciate. While instantly being surrounded by outstanding individuals, I was able to learn all I needed to know in how to be successful not only in cross country, but as a person. They taught me the dedication of not allowing yourself to say "There's always tomorrow, I can run then." Instead they instilled the Ankeny attitude of always being prepared. Go now. While these role models were all excellent runners, they were all excellent students as well. They took challenging courses throughout high school, and they did quite well. I immediately emulated them and saw that being in a lot of activities wasn't good enough. I had to excel at lots of activities. I gained the determination to not just participate, but letter in cross country, basketball, and tennis while staying in the top three percent of my class and leaving Ankeny with nearly twenty college credits. And if sport and academics weren't enough, I piled on music. I had the discipline used in running to balance cross country, choir, show choir, and school all in the fall. I even tried out for vocal All State, and I made it three times. All the while, my 5K times continued to drop. The people I have met and the friends that I've made during my cross country years will forever go with me in whatever I do.

Running, like anything else, is a habit. Once in practice it's hard to get out. I never thought that I'd actually enjoy going out for a run, but now it's safe to say that I'm hooked for life. I enjoy running all the time. It's so relaxing. I can either run with myself and my thoughts, or also with someone else. My favorite times running are always over the summer with my dad in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I wouldn't trade those morning runs for just about anything. For that I can thank cross country. My choice in lifestyle will now always include running. There are not too many activities that you can do all your life. Running is one of them, and I plan on going out for morning runs for a long time to come.