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Lessons from Running Run On

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by Jadyn Bui

All I felt was fire in my legs and burning in my lungs as they pumped harder and harder but somehow refused to stop. Meter by meter the last straightaway melted into the white line, my teammates’ triumphant cheers, and finally the staggering in search of water. Only after seeing the official results did I let myself believe that my first and last competitive 5 kilometer race had earned a bronze medal.

Between my own events at the Track and Field ACSC in Taiwan, I cheered teammates on for hours, which I realized was also vital to the team’s success. Watching Eliza Setzfand (10) earn gold in multiple events in a row was exhilarating, but so was celebrating often overlooked victories like beating personal records or passing someone at the last minute. 

Having done both in the 3k race, Anna Kilgo (12) remarked: “I learned just how much encouragement works. When you know you have people on your side, it feels so much easier to accomplish.”

Even with maximum physical effort and cheering, Some competitions, like the boys’ long distance runs, were very difficult to score in. But no defeat was ever the end. 

After scratching twice in discus but bouncing back to get 4th in shot put, Gabriella Uzzle (12) said, “I learned that no matter how badly you mess up an event or anything else for that matter, you have to move on, do better next time, and not let it get to you, no matter how bad it hurts.”

Everyone on our team knew this. We had some firsts and some lasts, but no matter what, we always encouraged each other and never gave up hope. Over two days of intense competitions, both the boys and the girls earned second place in their division. Combined, our score came out on top.

We walked away with much more than medals and (plural!) trophies from the ACSC Track and Field competition this year. Coach Brooks had repeatedly told us during a team meeting, “You need to have the right mindset!” He was right. The competition was more than just running, jumping, and throwing. We developed mental strength, team support, and perseverance that I hope we will carry on forever.

For me, the difference between a loss and a victory was doing my best no matter how much it hurt in the moment, so that I would have no regrets afterwards. I may never run a 5k that fast ever again, but I hope never to give up running, especially in the race that is my life.

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