Personal Narrative: My First Pair Of Running

The Beginning

The first time I ever put on a pair of running sneakers I thought It would be the last time. Running for me has opened up a world of opportunities from when I first started to run to this moment. Running has introduced friends, both old and new fast and slow, but never has there been a lonely time. Before I put on my first pair of running spikes I was viewed as un-athletic and socially awkward individual. Going to school was a chore and making friends was a challenge, but it all changed when I started to participate on the cross country team.

Seventh grade was the first year an individual could try out for a varsity team and me being un-athletic had no intention of joining one. School ended at two o’clock and as I walked towards the bus I noticed a

I asked them if they missed their bus, they replied “no we are on the cross country team”. Not knowing what that sport was I began to ask questions like how can one join this team, what do I have to practice and how friendly are the athletes. The team responded with one sentence, “all you need is a pair of legs and a positive attitude and you will be fine”. That same day as I got off the bus I ran up the driveway as fast a to beg my mom to sign a check worth two hundred dollars and drop me off at the school. I was desperate to make friends, going home each day and playing with a dog might seem like fun, but after years of doing so I began to feel alone. The next day after school, I walked to the coach’s office to meet him and the team. As I walked into the door, I noticed the smell of dead fish, as I would soon find out my coach was a vegetarian. Bill Gillin was his name and little did I know, but he would shape my future in ways I could only imagine. Having never run before in my life I thought the coach would simply say we just don’t have the room for another athlete, but to my amazement he greeted me with open arms. Apparently running is not the most