David Schwartz
 Per. 5 Academic Decathlon
8/21/07

 

     We all run for various reasons. The letter below explains why David Schwartz does. It was passed along to us by a member of the Redondo HS "cross-country family".
     We all share in your passion, David!

Cross-Country – Our Sport Is Your Sport’s Punishment

      Distance running is the only sport I know of in which one can say “long and hard” to a female teammate and not intend it to be a sexual innuendo.  Yes, in case you were wondering, I am a runner.  It is, sadly, my life; it is my obsession and my passion.  I am not joking, while I was writing this speech I was also watching running videos online. 
      I’ve been running for as long as I can remember, which I guess translates to about five years or so.  I run for both the cross country and track teams at Redondo, and I couldn’t wish for anything better in life.  Life on the teams is just great, I mean who doesn’t love 10 mile hill runs every Saturday morning; and if we have a meet, waking up at the un-Godly hour of 5 and freezing to death hours before your race starts.  Workouts that just make you want to lie down and die are also a blast.  Yeah, who could ask for anything better?
      I am dead serious.  Runners love these kinds of things.  Yes we are all a little crazy.  Well, maybe very crazy, but this is what we do, it’s how we roll.  If you are a runner, it is your life, you know nothing else, and you care about nothing else.  Personally, Cross Country is my favorite sport.  Sure, track is fun, but cross country is a whole new ball game.  Cross Country is a world unto itself.  People live for this sport.  If you don’t believe me, go to dyestat.com and you will see how crazed and passionate people are about this sport. 
      Some of you are probably wondering, what the heck is cross country?  Others may be thinking, do they run to New York or something?  Actually, cross country races are three mile races held over various courses.  Teams are scored by the placement of their top five runners.  If a runner comes in fifth place, his team has five points.  Scoring is a lot like golf, the team with the lowest overall score wins.  The courses may be flat and easy, other courses, such as the Palos Verdes course, are the spawn of Satan and have some of the worst hills imaginable.  A hill on that very course is aptly named “Agony”.  I even capitalize it when I write its name.  It’s a beast.  I kid you not; you practically need rock climbing gear to get up this thing.  And as if things weren’t horrible enough, it is at the start of the third and final mile in the race.    
      Many times you find yourself on the line before the race starts thinking to yourself, “Why am I doing this?  This is absolutely crazy!”  But when you finish knowing you gave it your all and did something that very few people in this world can, you say to yourself, “That’s why.”
      But all the grueling races and agonizing pain aside, cross country is a truly bonding experience.  The team is like a family.  No other experience brings a group of teenagers closer than training together, racing together and finishing a cross country season together.  We are there for each other.  We cheer just as loudly for our champion runners who win almost every race they run as we cheer for the new freshmen who are just trying to finish.  Each teammate is important; everyone contributes to the team effort.  Any athlete who wants to compete does.  All you have to do is believe.
      One race in Laguna Hills last year will forever be engraved in my memory.  Not because I ran fast or because the course was horrible or anything like that.  I will remember this race forever because of one of the runners on another team I saw.  He was a champion if I ever saw one.  He did not win his race, far from it actually, he came in last, but no one cared.  He had been crippled in a car accident years before and had come out to run for the cross country team.        
      Any other sport would have crushed his dreams and turned him down.  But not this sport, anyone who wants to compete and is willing to work hard gets a jersey, no questions asked.  He navigated the three mile course with more courage and determination than any able-bodied runner I have ever seen.  His teammates jogged alongside him to give him support.  I will never forget the smile on his face when he crossed the finish line.  It was truly remarkable. 
      As you can tell, I feel very strongly about my sport and what it can do for someone.  Every runner I know has certainly come a long way.  My freshman year, I was about eighty to ninety pounds heavier than you see me now, and I owe it all to this team.  With hard work, dedication and persistence anything is possible.  I ran a 6:30 mile freshman year and thought that breaking six minutes would take a miracle.  Junior year I was disappointed with only running 5:06 for my mile and not breaking five.  See what I mean, anything is possible.  Runners are never satisfied, we always strive for perfection, and that is what makes our sport so unique.
      As I look back on all of my running experiences, I remember so many good times.  Every summer our team travels to the mountains for a week of intense altitude training.  Despite the deadly trail runs and countless sets of push-ups and sit-ups, we manage to have the best week of our lives each time.  After the sun goes down, we blast techno music as loud as we can through our iPod speakers and have a rave.  This past year we even had an Animal House-esque toga party, complete with the song “Shout” and all.  I know what you are thinking, but the only thing to drink was Gatorade.  In that week we spent at 7,000 feet we trained hard and also became a closer knit group. 
      My teammates are just one large extension of my already crazy family.  The only small exception is that my team is not all either Jewish or Italian.  I feel truly lucky that I have spent the past four years with such good friends and companions.  I will definitely miss them when I leave for college.
      That was my little speech on running.  I hope I didn’t put any of you to sleep, and I hope that at least a couple of you paid a little attention.  So if you have sons or daughters undecided about what sport to do in high school, just mention cross country.  You know where my vote would go if I had a say.  The experiences that they will have on that team will stay with them forever.  Mine certainly have. 

 

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