Cross Country...

Certainly nothing is as pure or perfect. Its vigor, clarity, and the joyfulness of spirit in the thrill of competition, the race is the sport of the gods; run from the first by the ancient Olympians, it is the sport of contest among the champions of old and new. The contest has a natural allure that none can turn away; however amateur, the race is sure to draw forth a crowd of enthusiastic spectators. But not every race is the simple road race or playground challenge. Only one race, with its obstacles of the mind and body, brings the toughest of champions to the ground, batters and uplifts the spirit all competing in it, yet delivers a triumphant, ethereal joy at defeating an opponent while one’s body has surpassed the realms of consciousness and exhaustion and a sense of accomplishment to those who simply compete and complete in a race of the type. Childish joy, raucous laughter, terrible singing, run-dancing, nervous playfulness, and general spontaneity are all traits brought forth in even the most hardened of competitors both before and after the race. The energy of the grounds is contagious to all yet often the most elite athletes often succumb the ground and its welcoming security compared to the exhausted instability of their bodies by the end of the challenge; however, champions of the sport feel this contagion when they’re driving their bodies far past the realm of sanity and feel the adrenaline rush and surge of energy from the cheers of the crowd. A race’s spell of competition and excitement draws the most un-athletic, altruistic patrons of a cause, reckless of children, and the most hardened, chiseled of elite athletes. Throughout the centuries, there has been a passion, an allurement of the amateur sport, from the mud and hills and ruts in the course, to the exhausting challenge of completing the endeavor and striving for victory, to the intrinsic closeness of bitter rivals that if it were overrun with heavy sponsorships, overly hyped up competition, and run on easy courses it would cease to be itself; it would no longer be the beautiful sport of cross country.