Alyssa Pendon (she/her)
Editorial Team Member
I really have no idea why I run.
When you think about senior athletes, you generally think of people who are really dedicated and passionate about a sport they’ve played for much of their adolescent life. Hundreds of hours spent on one thing with memories, pictures, and random merch and equipment to show for it.
But running, and specifically cross country, was never something I felt the same way about.
I only started running cross country in 8th grade, and honestly, I did really love it. I always felt like I could be better than the day before. We had fun meets, I was improving, and it felt like cross country was loved by the school.
As I started getting older, I started to kind of hate it in a way. I wasn’t as fast as the other girls, and my coaches were more strict.
But I stayed. And I guess I’m one of the most experienced runners out of our 10-girl team at school. And I don’t love it or hate it. I’m just kind of here.
I don’t mind or enjoy going to practice. I just go. Team bonding is fun and a way to pass time, and I get to have a study hall instead of an actual gym.
I think I stay because it’s been a part of my routine for most of my life that I can remember. Plus, I still enjoy running itself; I just don’t always enjoy racing. And that’s okay.
It’s almost freeing to have this mindset about cross country. I don’t have to do things just because I’m in love with them and I’m super passionate about it. But I also don’t have to stop doing something just because I dislike some parts of it. I can just do things because I can and it keeps me active.
So here are some cross country pictures from the season thus far. I’m in Yearbook this year, and they keep asking my friend and me (who’s also in yearbook) to take pictures. We just end up taking fun ones as well :))
This is my friend Lucy and I on the bus to my first last meet. I actually didn’t go to the first two meets because I had a wedding, our first one, and the ACT on our second. I wasn’t complaining, though.
This is my Cross Country sister Caroline! She is a freshman, and she’s super sweet. I actually feel like a ‘big sister’ this year. In past years, our team has been primarily dominated by upperclassmen, so I’ve always been the ‘younger’ sister.
During our Homecoming Assembly, my school decided that every fall sport had to run out and be introduced. Once we got to the end, we got to throw a shirt into the crowd!! It was actually kinda cool to throw shirts at people because most people are super rowdy.
Here’s an actual picture of me running. I think it’s funny because it represents how I feel on a daily basis. This was from my first last meet.
Every night before we have a meet, our team hosts pasta parties. We all go to someone’s house and eat a lot of carbs and a sweet treat after. We played a game of charades, but we could only describe the chosen word with one syllable. If you said a word with multiple syllables, you got hit in the head.
I really have no idea why I run.
When you think about senior athletes, you generally think of people who are really dedicated and passionate about a sport they’ve played for much of their adolescent life