Something Positive
Over the last eight years at least one of my children has competed in cross country at Falmouth High School. On August 29th they participated in their first meet of the season, the Chandler Relays at Twin Brooks in Cumberland. This meet is hosted by Greely High School and all the area teams participate, as well as teams that Falmouth wouldn’t normally run against.
As I left work to get to the meet by 4 pm my mind was full of unfinished details and stress. Like most of us in today’s world, I was on my mobile phone doing business until I turned into the Twin Brooks facility. As I looked out on the expanse of fields, the stress began to leave my body. Buses and cars lined the sides of the fields and runners stretched, jog and laughed. There were hundreds of them encompassing almost the entire field area.
After I parked my car I proceeded toward the start of the relay races and began a 2 hour social ritual that is better than any amount of psychological therapy could ever be. Every few minutes I would stop to catch up with a child, parent or friend that I had not seen for awhile and the all had one thing in common………..a smile.
The intriguing part of being a spectator at a cross country meet is that as the event unfolds you get to move throughout the course while each runner gives their best effort and everyone is cheering and encouraging all the runners. Some of the most thunderous applause is given to a runner back in the pack who is giving the same effort as the runner who wins the race. The spectators work together as they move from place to place and the collective camaraderie and shared experience is always exhilarating for me.
It is amazing to watch each child work so hard, experience physical pain and exhaustion. And then recover and feel a great since of satisfaction and contentment with an eye on understanding how to improve and do better in the next race.
To me it is simply learning about the ups and downs of life in a safe and positive environment that allows each athlete to compete in every event while understanding that it is the work that they do on their own that will truly lead to success and happiness.
If you ever need a positive boost I would encourage you to look up the time and location of your local school’s next cross country meet. The positive energy will help you to accomplish things you didn’t think were possible. The experience will also reassure you that we are teaching these kids good techniques to deal with life and someday be leaders with ability to take care of themselves and work with others to make this world a better place
