August 29, 2018

Cross country…where do I even begin?

 It’s a sport filled with lots of passion, grit, and determination.  It’s a sport made up of good days, as well as some bad.  It’s a sport considered by some to be entirely individual, but is really done alongside your teammates, your second family.  It’s a sport formed upon consistency and discipline.  It’s a sport where you test your body’s limits for miles on end, constantly trying to go longer or faster.  It’s a sport where you gladly welcome those butterflies that make their home in the pit of your stomach, accepting that as a part of your pre-race routine.

These are just a few of the many reasons why I love to run.

My name is Brenna Cohoon and I’m a junior at Downers Grove South High School.  I have been running since fifth grade but have been fully committed to the sport since my freshman year of high school.  My first two years on this team have been an incredible experience in the world of distance running for me.  I’ve had my share of good races, as well as races where I have learned more about myself as a runner.

Last fall, I placed 19th at the IHSA 3A Cross Country State Finals with a personal best of 17:08.  My teammates all had phenomenal races that day allowing our team to place fifth overall just one point away from fourth-place. We were just 10 points away from a trophy.  It was a team performance that we were and still are proud of, but definitely served as a valuable learning experience, too.

During this past track season, I qualified for the IHSA 3A State Meet in the 3200 Meter Run and placed 7th with a personal best of 10:49.  It was an exciting finish to the season after having multiple meets cancelled due to the crazy early spring weather of Illinois.

Our team’s training this past summer was more intense than in years prior and gave us many opportunities to get in some quality mileage.  All of the new faces brought in tons of awesome energy, while all of the returning runners have taken girls under their wings and offered advice based upon their past experiences.  Overall, we have a large, dedicated group of girls this year with high goals for the entire season.

Last Tuesday was our first meet of the season and our team’s home opener.  Naperville Central, Oswego, and Marist joined us as we rang in the beginning of a new season.  I was very fortunate to have some great competition that challenged me, including my teammate Melissa Weidner who finished second place on our course at O’Brien Park.  I finished behind her in third, with the rest of our team not far behind.  Oswego’s Isabelle Christiansen had a great race as she finished three seconds ahead of Melissa.

Although this was not my best performance individually, I was pleased with my results at this point in the year.  I was very proud of my teammates and how they pushed each other to have a positive experience that will help with preparation for our meets later on in the season.

This weekend, we will be competing in the Fenton John Kurtz Early Bird Invitational, our first big invitational of the season.  This is always an exciting meet filled with positive energy and good competition from a fairly large number of schools.  I am really looking forward to this weekend to see how this meet unfolds!

Editor’s Note – Brenna Cohoon will be sharing her experiences of the 2018 season every Wednesday morning this fall. She also has a blog page where you can read some more of her work - Brenna Cohoon Blog Page: Love2run02

Photo Credit - Laura Duffy ©2017