I have the best friends in the entire universe. It’s as simple as that.

Lots of things in life are ephemeral; I will not be able to run someday, loves come and go, and the places we love also seem to find a way to get away from us. But friends, true friends, now those are for life.

So for those of you that fill my life with laughter and smiles day in and day out, what does true friendship mean to you?

For me it’s as simple as this; no matter what, friends have each others back. Whether it’s driving 150 miles for no apparent reason, calling each other up with nothing in mind, just wanting to hang out, or running blindly into the night, not worried about the steps taken or the steps that need to be taken, but enjoying the present for all that it is and letting go of everything else.

Thank you guys, this break has been amazing, last summer was amazing, and every day is amazing knowing that I honestly do have the best friends in the world.

Find the thing that would make you the happiest person in the world, find what it is that you truly want more than anything – and go get it. No one out there is going to get it for you, your fate lies in your hands. So devote your heart, being, and soul to what it is in life that you want and make it yours.

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready when the opportunity comes.” – Joe Newton

Four words: Are you fucking serious?

#40? Really? Easier than raquetball and squash? Easier than badminton and auto racing? Easier than calf roping??

I recently got into a debate as to which sport is the hardest – ironic that ESPN decided to join in. Sure playing football isn’t the easiest thing in the world, I mean you have to put in 100% effort for about 5 seconds, and then rest for a minute. Basketball on the other hand is difficult and does deserve a lot of respect – but if you’re tired? Call a timeout. Get a substitution. What about swimming? Sure it’s difficult, trust me, I know. But can you really put 100% into swimming? Can you push your body to the absolute limit? I think not because once you hit the absolute limit in the water, there is nothing to stop you from drowning. What about baseball? Sure the pitcher has to throw a ball 100+ times in a game, I can see how that’s physically demanding. Only one problem – I’ve never seen a baseball player, besides the pitcher, sweat. And even there it’s dew drops at the most. How about #26 – team handball? …I’m not even going to waste words on this one.

There are plenty of reasons to work hard to be a football player; recognition for being “tough”, huge salaries if you make it to the pros, being the talk of the town. Sure even swimmers get tons of fame, look at Phelps. Baseball players get paid hundreds of millions of dollars for swinging a bat a couple times a game and sitting on a bench the rest of the game. Hockey? You get to pick “fights” with anyone you want and I’m sure it’s very physically demanding but how much pain can you really be in when you’re wearing 50 pounds of protective gear?

What about the big one? Boxing. Rated #1. The toughest sport to play. Sure you’re getting your punched, knocked to the ground, and destroyed both mentally and physically – but there is one fatal flaw in this reasoning; in boxing someone else is inflicting the pain on you but you can inflict pain back on them. Whatever they do, you can do to them. And when the bell rings? You get to rest. You can throw in the towel and the other person wins, you let down yourself, maybe the fans, but that’s it. In a race there is no retaliation. You can’t beat up the course, it just beats you up over and over and over and over and over again. Each hill pushes you down and kicks you in the face, but for some reason you get back up and push through it. The last mile kicks you from behind and breaks your kneecaps with a bat. The last kick feels like you’re getting stabbed in the heart repeatedly. In what other sport do you think to yourself “water-boarding would feel more comfortable than this” and actually have a valid point?

So what about Cross Country? There’s no fame in it. No money. No million dollar shoe deals. You don’t get a nice heated pool, or an indoor court. You don’t get 70,000 fans cheering for you. You don’t get timeouts. No substitutions. If you throw in the towel you don’t only disappoint yourself, but your whole team. You can get away with a slump during games in other sports. You can have a bad quarter, a bad round, a bad half. But in a race you can’t have a bad mile, or a bad two miles. If you do your race is gone. It requires 100% focus and determination for 100% of the race. Any little thing can affect a race – it can be scorching hot, or freezing cold. Pouring rain or dry as bones. Soggy and slippery or dusty and unforgiving.

People say golf is 10% physical and 90% mental – sounds tough, but Cross Country is 100% physical and 100% mental. Now that’s real pain.

Most of you are thinking “What does he know? He’s never done anything but run” – I’ve had my nose broken in soccer, I’ve had to survive a horrible swim workout, I’ve been knocked on my ass playing football (Tommy). It hurts, I know. So for those of you that don’t believe me, go lace up your running shoes. Go find a nice three mile course or better yet sign up for a race. It doesn’t matter what it is; flat, hilly, dry or wet. Just try one. Push yourself during it; don’t jog, don’t walk – run. And if your legs don’t feel like jell-o, your lungs aren’t screaming for air, and your mind isn’t consistently begging you to stop – then you haven’t run hard enough.

Find me someone who truly thinks that boxing, or football, or figure skating is more difficult than finishing a Cross Country race and you’ll have found someone scared of real pain.

So this leads to the question; why do we do it? Why run for 2 hours straight just for practice? Why run through storms and heat waves? Why get up early in the morning when you could be nice and comfortable in your bed? Why make your feet bleed, your toenails fall off, and put your legs through so much pain that jumping off the damn hill that you just ran up would feel better? Is it for the beautiful views? The medals? The camaraderie between you and your team? The satisfaction of falling down after the finish line and knowing you gave it everything you have? Is it all of these things?

Or maybe it’s because Cross Country is like life – sometimes it makes you suffer, sometimes you wonder why you keep doing it, but when everything clicks, when you are one with the trail, when your body and mind come together, and you and the run become connected – you realize what it’s all for. Cross Country makes you embrace the pain, it makes you feel alive through the pain, and in the end, when your shirt is drenched with sweat, your legs feel like rubber, you can barely talk, and every muscle in your body feels like it’s been torn to bits – you lay there, dead, knowing you gave every ounce of effort inside your being – you smile to yourself deep inside and you know why you’re going to be back in your running shoes the next day.

Why do you run?

-AA

And yet each and everyone of them took something different from it.

“Three words : Training for Hawaii.”

It’s about forgetting the past, it’s about throwing away all the expectations and fears. It’s about getting out there and putting everything you have into one race – whether it’s a mile, or 6.2. It’s about pushing your body to its complete and utter limits just for the pleasure of lying at the finish line, covered in sweat and thinking to yourself “I did it”.

“Iono if i’m one of the ppl you are referring to, but just want to point out that this quote is the essence of all of our friendships. We all are at different places, different stages in our lives but its our determination to stay together, and keep in touch that makes us not only friends but a family.

See you all very soon and much love from the east coast!”

It’s about more than running – it’s about life. It’s about putting 110% into everything you do, it’s about never giving up when you have the chance to. It’s about doing it because you want to, not because you have to. It’s about fighting all odds and putting in the work day in and day out because it’s everything you want. It’s about being more than a group of people or friends, it’s about being a family and being there for each other in times of need.

“it means that nothing–nothing, in life is guaranteed.”

It’s about not taking life for granted, it’s about taking every opportunity that life gives you by the balls. It’s about not giving up because it’s “too hard”. It’s about making yourself better for yourself. It’s about never counting yourself out of a race because races are run on trails, not on paper.

“means the difference between 45 and 46 pts”

It’s about never being satisfied. It’s about always wanting more, wanting faster and harder, wanting to suffer for the glory. It’s about pushing through the pain for the sweetness of victory. It’s about seeing that victory goes further than the scoreboard – that victory is about overcoming obstacles that are in the way of what you truly want. It’s about being there for your team in victory and in defeat. It’s about going for the extra second just because you can. It’s about destroying your body, mind, and soul just to reach that damn finish line and putting off dying until you cross it.

“Means no guts, no glory.”

It’s about not being afraid of defeat, of pain. It’s about squeezing every ounce of energy out of your body. It’s about being crazy. It’s about running 12 miles because you feel like it. It’s about going hard on each and every interval to get the one that doesn’t count.

“Means that with the right drive you can be what you want to be and do what you want to do. Determination and heart can take one to levels that he never expected to reach”

It’s about standing at the fork of two trails – one short and easy and the other long and grueling. It’s about thinking about how much your legs hurt, how much you ate before, how thirsty you are, how hot it is outside, how the easy trail won’t hurt, how steep the hill is, how tired you’ll be afterwards, how you could be sitting on a beach doing nothing instead, how everyone else sitting at home has no idea how much pain you’re in, how hard your workout was the day before, how the sooner you finish the sooner you’ll get to watch TV again, how everyone else took the easy path – then saying “fuck it.” and following your heart.

Woh Bundy.

Funny how our lives parallel each other’s so frequently huh? I really don’t know how to fully describe our friendship because that’s just what it is; indescribable.

If you really sit and think about it’s rather hilarious how similar our lives are; I’ll refrain from writing about all our similarities but I’m pretty sure you can think of a few…

You’re the reason I fell in love with running, you’re the one who taught me not to be scared. Running into the darkness, unsure of what’s around the next corner but at the same time feeling safe and secure knowing that you’re next to me. Our first night run in Rancho after freshmen year was nothing short of spectacular; the lighthearted conversations and jokes on the roads, the fear as we got closer and closer to the park, the shock and then rush of adrenaline as the ranger’s light turned on, the problems melting away as we sprinted into the night, the runner’s high building up as we climbed the hill, and finally that gorgeous view that greeted us as we finally reached the top. Sitting above the world, pure and complete silence all around us and all the troubles of life floating carelessly away as our conversations grew deeper, the stars brighter, and morning grew closer.

Or maybe it was getting lost in Fremont Older at 2 in the morning. Or possibly sitting next to the reservoir, shivering cold but not wanting to leave. Or maybe it’s all the problems we’ve shared and all the times we’ve solved them with an all out sprint to your car at the end of a run. You know the situations we’re in right now are very similar to a night run – running blindly, not knowing what to expect and just hoping for the best. But what I’ve learned from you is that in the end the world tends to unfold as it should.

Life is confusing. It’s horrible at times. Sometimes you get sick of it. But thanks to you whenever I start to hate life, when I don’t want to feel anymore, all I have to do is send you a quick text; “night run tonight?” – and as soon as I send it I go and lace up my running shoes knowing that when I sneak out the back door, quietly walk around the pool and past my parents’ room, that you’ll be waiting there in the car with your beanie, gloves, and running jacket; a big smile on your face and a joke to welcome me.

You’ve always been there for me, to cheer me up after the bad breaks up, the bad races, and hard times. You’ve been my teammate and my friend. You never turn down a run or trip to get donuts, no matter how late or early it is. I mean how many people wake up at 5 in the morning to drive 30 minutes to run up Black Mountain in the middle of January; it’s freezing outside, it’s Black Mountain, it’s pitch black, and we parked next to some abandoned hippie house…yeah we’re definitely runners. Crazy runners. No matter what problems we had below the clouds there was truly nothing to worry about 3000 feet into the sky.

Life is short and truly great friends are few and scarce – but I can honestly and happily say that you have been one of those few people that have been there for me through everything – through the highs and lows, the ups and downs, the sunsets and sunrises, the mud, the rain, the heat, the pain.

So thank you Gene, thank you for always dropping everything you’re doing to go for run, for spotting me all throughout your senior year, for joking with me and making me laugh when I feel like I’ve lost the ability to, and thank you for reassuring me that the sun will rise again – and then running to Priya’s with me to watch it.

Chad Hampton – He won the South Carolina A Class Cross Country meet in 17:01 wearing…Air Jordans.

I can picture it now, he’s running down the straightaway, the crowd is cheering, he’s about to cross the finish line – and this is playing:

full article: http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=18923