Blog #4 – My journey so far

By Brenna Cohoon

After having a week off of racing, I’ve had the chance to think things over and decided to write about my running career: how it began, progressed, and came to be what it is today.

When I was little, I was involved in a number of sports, like almost every other kid: soccer, basketball, ice skating, gymnastics, swimming.  

Then 5th grade came along, and the only sports in which I participated were volleyball, basketball, and track.  The longest I ran in a race that year was 400 meters, and I competed in various field events, too.  I found success at St. Joseph School in the tiny parochial league in which I competed and truly enjoyed track.  I didn’t necessarily like how I felt while running, but I loved the feeling of accomplishment experienced once crossing that finish line.  That is still one of my favorite feelings to this day.

One time, during my 5th grade track season, I went to a park with my mom to get in some exercise.  We started jogging, and I was itching to go faster.  My mom told me multiple times, “Slow down!  This isn’t a sprint; you need to pace yourself.”  After reassuring her that it wasn’t a hard effort, she immediately told me that I had to do cross country the following year.

Fall of 6th grade came and sure enough, my parents made me join my school’s cross-country team.  There was only one other girl from my grade who was on the team, but we had fun at practices.  I complained a lot about the two miles or so that I would run at practice a couple times a week, but I was able to compete in both volleyball and cross country, so I was happy.  There were only a couple of conflicts, but in those situations, volleyball took priority over running.

After participating in my last basketball season during 6th grade, track rolled around, and I begged my coaches to put me in the longer events.  They were not opposed to this idea, considering very few kids from my school voluntarily ran in the 600 and 800-meter races.  The season progressed similarly to the previous year, except I just ran some longer races.  

I continued to compete in sprint relays and field events, especially long jump.  By the end of that season, I had gotten my school’s JV record in the 800 Meter Run and was not far off of the record in the 600.  I honestly did not know that such records existed until my coaches had informed me, but I knew it was something to be proud of.

Before I knew it, I was in 7th grade.  I was now the only girl my age on my school’s cross-country team and often felt lonely at practices.  The younger kids didn’t run as much as me, and the boys couldn’t make it to every practice, so I had to train on my own and hold myself accountable.  There were fewer conflicts between cross country and volleyball that year, so I could compete in even more meets.  I was starting to take things seriously and truly enjoy running.  Running set me apart from the majority of the kids at my school, and I found confidence from participating in it.  There was something about doing a task that most deem as being difficult that made me even more motivated.  I wanted to rise to the challenge.

Track came once again, and I was as excited as could be.  Now that I was in 7th grade, I could finally race in the 1600 Meter Run.  Most meets, I would compete in the 1600 and 800, along with the 4x100 meter relay and long jump.  It was an interesting combination, to say the least, and I usually got some very confused looks after going straight from the mile to the 4x1, our last event of each meet.  “Aren’t you tired?” the parent volunteers would ask.  “No!” I would reply enthusiastically.  The entire relay was only a quarter of what I had just raced, anyway!

8th grade arrived, and I was ready to end my career as a Crusader on a high note.  I had my best cross-country season yet, getting second place in almost every single race.  Unfortunately, I never won a cross country race in grade school.  That made track so much more rewarding, though.  That season, my ultimate goal was to get my school’s varsity record in the 1600 Meter Run.  Although I liked running the 800, as well, I decided to put that to the side and really focus on the mile.

One of my favorite memories from running at St. Joe’s was my last track meet ever at the school.  It was the championship meet, and I was competing in the 1600 Meter Run and 4x100 Meter Relay.  I wanted to win the mile and run under 6 minutes, further solidifying my school record.  One of my rivals took off quickly in the race, and I settled in behind her.  About halfway through the race, I made my move, finishing in 5:53.  I felt like the fastest person in the world!  Right after, I went over to run the second leg in my relay.  We were within the first three places the entire race, but our anchor leg kicked it in for the win!  To an 8th grader, it was a thrilling day.

Heading into my freshman year of high school, my plan was to play volleyball in the fall and run track in the spring.  I was signed up for the DGS summer running camp, thinking it would simply be a good way to stay in shape, prepare me for track, and allow me to meet some people.  Little did I know that I would completely fall in love with the team and sport.  About three days into camp, I told my parents that I wanted to stop playing volleyball.  My passion for the sport had been declining ever since I played my last game with my school team.  My club team was not very successful, which discouraged a competitive person like me immensely.  To ensure that I was not making an irrational decision, I participated in my high school’s summer volleyball camp.  At this point, I thought that if I chose to play volleyball and things didn’t go as planned, I would just quit and join cross country the following year.  To further confirm what my heart was telling me, though, I didn’t feel the same connection with the volleyball team as I did with my friends from cross country. 

I knew I was making the right choice by officially joining the cross-country team.  The encouragement I received from the coaches and girls was phenomenal, far beyond anything I could imagine.  Being part of such a tightly knit team was the best thing that could ever happen to someone like me, coming from a graduating class of 49 kids and knowing almost no one else going into high school.  I was lucky enough to find myself running varsity right away as the fourth or fifth runner, depending on the race.  It wasn’t until the state series that I really found my rhythm and started accomplishing some things that I thought were impossible for me.  Our young team finishing 4th in the state of Illinois was super exciting, but we knew what we had to do to achieve our future goals.

Winter rolled around, and I spent my afternoons literally dashing through the snow in freezing temperatures.  This preseason track training was different than anything I had ever experienced, but it provided me with the preparation I needed.  Early in the season, I learned that the 3200 Meter Run was my favorite track event.  I was fortunate enough to compete in that race at both the Top Times Indoor Championship and the state meet later in the spring.  Top Times was a moment where I definitely surprised myself, while state was a bit of a disappointment.  Overall, the track season of 2017 was filled with ups and downs, but taught me so much.

Last fall, my sophomore year, was another great time of growth, more so mentally that physically.  My coaches told me to believe in myself and that I am capable of competing among the best girls in the state.  I had races, once again, that surprised me, as well as some off days that I couldn’t let fill my mind with negativity.  By staying persistent, I was able to accomplish my own personal goal of finishing in the top 25 at state.  Our team’s 5th place finish didn’t quite live up to our expectations. It did drive us to focus on improving the next season.

This past track season was, again, an excellent opportunity to learn about myself as a runner and person.  I had a slow start to the season, but ultimately accomplished my goal of finishing in the top 9 at state in the 3200 Meter Run.  

Throughout my entire running career, I feel as though I have grown so much.  I have found running to be the perfect metaphor for life:  you get out of it what you put into it.  I have poured my heart and soul into this sport and wouldn’t trade all of that time spent for anything else.  Ever since I began running in 5th grade, I have received such special opportunities that have allowed me to push myself more while increasing my love for running, and for all of my experiences, I am truly grateful.  Above all, I am so blessed to have met the incredible people whom I currently call my teammates, as well as the girls who I have run with in years past.  Without running, I wouldn’t know my best friends and feel that same sense of belonging among such a loving and supportive group of people.