Blog #1: Time Flies: My Last First Race

By Brenna Cohoon

Time flies by at an absolutely insane pace! 

Just three short years ago, I was a freshman who was discovering the world of running.  Of course, I had run in middle school, but I was completely unaware of the support that surrounds this amazing community.  

It is incredibly difficult to grasp the fact that now, I am a senior in high school.  I am trying to make the most of every single moment with my teammates while also doing what I can to prepare for the new chapter that will begin in a year.

I remember the beginning of my freshman cross country season.  My first official race was on August 22, 2016 at the Yorkville Invitational.  I had competed in Detweiller at Dark the month before, which gave me a little bit of confidence.  I also had so much support from my family, coaches, and teammates.  Still, there was something that made me extremely nervous to race while wearing my Downers Grove South uniform for the very first time.

I recall the race going by quickly.  I was slightly confused as I entered the chute, finishing to see a surprising time of 19:22, over a minute faster than my 20:45 at Detweiller at Dark.

Fast forward to last week. 

I competed in my last first race of the XC season as a Mustang on August 27, 2019.  Like freshman year, I still got butterflies before I toed the line and I still had support from everyone around me.  However, I knew that since then, I have grown not only as a runner, but as a person, too.  Having a few years of experience under my belt allowed me to realize that it will only be a matter of time until I am back in the groove of things, used to racing three miles again.

One major difference about this season as a whole is simply the fact that I am a senior.  Being a captain and one of the most experienced members on the team comes with a great amount of responsibility.  I am held accountable to promote a positive team atmosphere and foster our hard-working culture.

Here is another difference about this season:

My nerves stem from holding high expectations of myself, as opposed to the fear of the unknown my freshman year.  Additionally, as of late, I have been working on turning that feeling into excitement!  I did not have those tools early on as a freshman, but over the years, I have learned so much through experimentation and following the example of my role models.

A distinct moment that really served as a reality check took place at our meet last week when I played the part of someone who I had always viewed as being “older” (coach or captain).  Before breaking out into our team cheer, I had the opportunity as a captain to say something inspirational to my teammates.  I reminded everyone of the valuable work we have been putting in for months.  I am not sure if what I said stuck with them, but hopefully it gave them a little boost of confidence before the gun went off.

The race itself was just like any other:  it was, quite simply, an opportunity to make ourselves better.  It was a warm day that may not be seen as ideal in terms of racing conditions, but we had to take advantage of the opportunity this race gave us to grow in both physical and mental strength. 

I pushed myself throughout the race, and whenever things became difficult mentally, I just thought of my teammates who were working just as hard as me.  I wasn’t just hurting for myself, but for them, as well.  I remembered our discussions as a group and how we set goals for the season.  I wanted to do everything I could with that one race to take a step in the right direction towards accomplishing those goals.

I ended up finishing first with a time of 18:02, which I was pleased but not satisfied with.  I was very proud watching my teammates finish second, third, fourth, and seventh to round out the scoring.  We had some girls really step things up over the course of the last few months, and their hard work has already started to show.  I cannot wait to see how they continue to progress.

Although our whole team feels as though there was some unfinished business from last fall, we hope to move forward in a positive light instead of dwelling on the past.  Our solid summer of training has hopefully prepared us well for a successful year.

Just like the past three years, I am excited to see where this season takes my team.