From the exhaustive training of the long, hot, grueling summer to the unforgiving practices and races, our bodies had become prepared for one of the greatest challenges this season.  We were nervously chatting trying to calm each other down before the starter called us out to give the usual instruction routine.  After a few blast of the whistle, the starter called the entire field of runners out for a short brief meeting.  It was the typical no jewelry, wear the same undergarments, and no logo, type speeches.  Once we all headed back to the line, we limbered up some more before the whistle sounded.  I stood there on that incredibly muddy starting line thinking a thousand thoughts before that gun went off.  I looked around and wondered will we fare well against the odds, how fast will the race be, and the courses conditions.  Everyone knew that it was terribly muddy, but no one knew exact condition until we actually met it head on.  Just as I calm myself down again, the whistle sounds again and the starter raises the gun and the flag making the entire area silent. 

Then, with one thunderous blast of the gun all the runners took off into an excruciating painful pace.  For the first half-mile we were grouped together as a team.  That all changed when our top runner found an opening in the giant group and took off with the lead pack.  The team’s second best runner and I barely escaped through that opening before it was filled with other runners.  I stuck with him for the next mile before he pulled away from me.  To try to maintain an excellent position and race, I focused on the next two runners ahead of me.  After first two and a half miles, nothing changed, and I was still in the same position trying to chase down the other two runners that were within 100 yards of me.  With about a half-mile left to go, I made the risky decision to start my kick from.  It was hard to maintain that pace into the finish line but knowing if I didn’t we might not reach one of the top four spots and qualify for regionals.  I was somehow able to block out my pain and catch the two on the dreadful hill that was before the straight away to the finish.  With my sprint to the finish, put an even larger gap between us.  As I finish, I received a card that had the number twenty-three written on it.  With all our places, 4th, 12th, 23rd, 30th, 46th, 70th, and 71st, we were second and qualified for regionals as a team.