So you may be asking yourself why I am qualified to offer life lessons as an “unlikely cross-country runner.”
Frankly, when people look at me, they would never think, “Oh, I bet she is a cross-country runner!”
I played sports all throughout high school, so I was athletic, but I did not fit the average cross-country body type. On the contrary, I have home run-swinging hips and thighs where, unfortunately, one alone was bigger than most of my teammate's torsos (you think I am exaggerating, but I am completely serious).
Basically, I felt like the Incredible Hulk running next to a bunch of Barbie dolls, only instead of a green complexion, I was usually red in the face.
Whether you like running or if the only form of running you do is running your mouth, these life lessons may help you too.
1. Don’t let anyone (including yourself) put limits on your abilities.
Since I don’t look like a cross-country runner, I never thought I would be good at it. I like running, and I actively ran to be in better shape, but I never felt like I was particularly good at it.
When I decided to run cross country, I did it to stay busy during the winter. So, when I began running competitively and was pretty decent at it, I was shocked. Who knew the Hulk could outrun a few Barbies, right? What shocked me even more was when I discovered that women were approaching my husband and telling him how proud they were of me.
Lesson? Try something new, even if you might fail. You might end up loving it. Live a little. Test your limits. You will be amazed by your unexpected abilities.
2. Everyone needs a running buddy.
Some days, you are just not feeling it. Some days, running 4km just doesn’t seem fun (I know. I know. Some of you wonder how insane you have to be to ever consider that fun).
These are the days when you need your running buddy to encourage and push you. Sometimes, even in the middle of a run, your motivation can plummet, and you need a good running buddy to drag you along so you do not give up entirely.
Life is like that, too. Some days, you’re just not up to it, and good people surrounding you will motivate you to keep going even when you want to give up. Life is hard, but it gets easier if you have a running buddy.
So be that kind of running buddy for someone else, and when you need it, they will be there for you as well.
3. The importance of mental toughness.
Everyone knows that in sports, mental toughness is important to be successful, and in cross country and life, it is no different. Surprisingly enough, in cross country, it’s not the fastest person who crosses the finish line first but the one who can endure the most pain for the longest amount of time.
Sometimes in life, you have to do a similar thing to succeed. You must keep pushing even when it gets hard, and you want to give up.
Learning to be mentally tough, not just in sports but in everyday life, will completely change you. You will be able to accomplish so much more, and your ability to handle setbacks and disappointments without giving up will increase dramatically.
4. Don’t let the fear of pain stop you.
Life and running are going to hurt. Sometimes….. they are going to hurt a lot!
No one likes to be in pain, but it is necessary to live through it. If we shrink away from the pain, we may miss out on some of the richest experiences in our lives.
Pain is momentary, but the experiences we will miss if we shy away from pain will impact our lives. Don’t miss out on life because you fear the pain associated with it.
5. Sometimes, even when you feel weak, you need to dig deep and be strong for others.
In cross country, you may not be the one who crosses the finish line first, but you can still earn points for your team. When another teammate falls behind, it is your job to push yourself and make up the difference.
You are not always going to feel strong in the run of life, but even at your weakest points, it may be important that you remain strong for those around you.
6. Kindness is important even during competition.
Cross country is an exciting sport because while it is still a competition, everyone is pushing through pain together and have sympathy for each other.
My first race when I wanted to give up I was completely taken off guard when a runner from the other team running next to me started to encourage me. After marvelling about this for quite a bit, I concluded, “Why not?”
The people around us in the run of life need encouragement, too. It doesn’t make you any less competitive. If they do better from your encouragement, it just pushes you to be better. What would happen if we encouraged and showed genuine kindness even to those who may seem to be against us?
7. It is important to show strength and heart on the uphill.
Running uphill is hard. It takes strength, endurance, mental toughness, and heart. Running cross country, I was once advised: “Beat her on the uphill.”
Running, as mentioned earlier, is a mental sport. If you pass someone while running up a hill, you defeat them mentally.
In their minds, they think, “If they can pass me uphill, I have no chance of catching them.”
Some of your hardest battles will be uphill, but if you can overcome those challenges, you will feel unstoppable. Everything else in life will be easier. So dig deep and stick it out during those uphill battles.
8. You’ve done it before; you can do it again.
Sometimes, during a race, you feel like you can’t do it, even though every day you run that much or more.
Don’t let your mind defeat you. Remember how many hard times and steep hills you’ve run so far, and keep going. You are stronger than you know.
I would never have imagined that running cross country would have had so much of an impact on my life. My life has greatly benefited from the lessons I learned, and maybe a few of my thoughts have helped you as well.
To sum it all up:
“Just run. It’s very hard to understand in the beginning that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually, you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit.”
