Never Stop We all have that one day that we can look back on. The day that you can say "that was probably the best day of my life." Mine just happened to be on October 18, 2012. That was the day that I decided what my future was going to be. It was also the day that changed my whole perspective on life. Now you're probably thinking "what could this huge, drastic, life changing event be?" but it's really not that big of a deal. The 2a District Cross Country meet in Panorama. Ahhhh there it is. Wait, that's it? That's my "life changing" event? I can practically hear the questions running through your mind. But just wait and hopefully by the end you'll have all your questions answered. Maybe I'll even inspire you. Maybe when you finish, you'll be able to understand my life just a little bit more. Now before I get into the details of that glorious day I feel like I should explain cross country a little. Whatever you're thinking about the sport, stop. Clear your head because I can almost gaurantee you that you're wrong. It's not stupid and it's not pathetic. It is one of the toughest things you will ever do. The runners aren't out of shape or lazy or "not true athletes." We have the greatest mentality you'll find and we have calf muscles stronger than the average football player. We spend long nights at practices and meets. We run/stretch/workout on the weekends and over holiday breaks. Running is a never ending sport. We give 100% everyday, every practice and every meet. The truth about 2 runners is that we're insane. We can't tell you why we do what we do, but we can tell you that we wouldn't want to be doing anything else. We have a tough conference, and what that means is that the CMB cross country team competes against some of the best teams in the state. Gilbert, Nevada, Roland Story, South Hamilton, Lynville-Sully, all rated teams, all in our conference. We had a strong team but saying that the odds were stacked against us was an understatement. But, we had everyone on our side. Our coaches, our managers, our other teammates, parents, siblings, peers, it felt like the whole entire school district was cheering us on. The week before our meet, Coach Mienerts had told us some very good news. It turns out that we would only be running against two rated teams. Both teams that we had beat in previous meets. South Hamilton and Panorama, those were the teams we had to beat, those were the teams that had a huge target on their backs. From Monday the 15 to that Thursday I had been doing everything I could do to prepare for our race. Eating right, going to bed on time, stretching everything that was sore. No matter how ready I thought I was, there was one thing that I was not prepared for: the nerves. I woke up that Thursday in a pretty good mood. I was pumped, I was ready, and I was expecting a major victory. I went to school just like any other meet day. My spikes were packed, I had a crazy number of water bottles in my bag, and my uniform was folded perfectly in my locker. About third hour the nervousness started to hit. All I could think about was that race. By the time we left school at 12:45, I was a full on wreck. My hands were shaking, my head was full of everything that could go wrong, and the only only thing I could focus on 3 was breathing in and out. The moment we arrieved at the golf course I could feel my heart drop to my stomach. This was it. This is what I had been waiting for all year. When we got off the bus things instantly improved. I had done this before, it was just another meet and I had to treat it like one. Eventually I could feel my heart slowing down and I was able to breathe again. As