Two years ago, during junior year of high school, my best friend asked me to join the cross country team after I expressed my passion for running. I laughed it off and joked, “No, no, not that type of running.” What I really meant to say was that although I really enjoyed running, I would run at most 1 mile or 2 miles if I was willing to push myself on a daily basis. I really did not think I was capable of running more than this distance until I came to Stockton University and decided to try something new. At first, in September and beginning of October, I was following the same training plan that I created for myself in high school. Then, I decided, “Well, what if I wanted to do more?” I pushed myself to run 3 miles and increased this to 5 and eventually 10. By the time I reached the last mark, I told myself that I had to race in order to truly mark my achievements. My heart was set on running on a half-marathon and for the next 4 months, I trained for this race and completely changed my lifestyle as I went. There was such a thrill in obtaining the once “unreachable” and I was about to grab it.

On Sunday, April 9, I woke up at 4:30 am with my stomach in knots and pre-race anxiety as thoughts ran through my mind. Why was I nervous? I had trained for months, followed a strict diet plan, and even planned my outfit a week in advance. As my dad and I picked up my friend and drove down to Rutgers reaching there almost 1 hour before the race, we were able to experience the pre-race rush before the wave of runners came into the area. Then, they started calling us into line and suddenly the moment I was preparing months for was REAL. It was all real. The gunshot rang and the runners blasted off. The first few miles, I could not stop myself from smiling like a dork with the euphoria just rushing in. By mile 10, my face was a different story, but my hard work and training kept me going towards the finish line. The finish line was a sense of relief and greatness; inexplicable by simple words.

Already, I am thinking of when I can race again and how I can improve my race by working on pace, posture, etc. There is always room for improvement; overall, my goal here is to show that if you set your mind to it, anything is possible. When I first started running, my parents even doubted that I would go further than 3 miles as a concern of health and family history rather than discouragement. Regardless, I was the first one in my family to run such a long race and defy all the odds. Often, you read the stories of the great unattainable feats athletes, scientists, etc. go through. Well, here is a small story of a common college girl who was able to break her own barriers and is on the way to joining the cross country team she once laughed off.