Greatest/Worst Running Moment(s)

So pretty much all I'm asking is if you've ever had a real emotional moment where maybe you did something you never thought was possible & you were proud of yourself, or maybe you beat someone that you weren't suppose to beat & you got really excited, or maybe it's something that was emotional but not the good kind, something that didn't do right...write about it.

I'm just going to write about two for now.
Track Regionals 100m Hurdles: I was ranked to take 8th & only top 6 made it to the Finals. I was really nervous because there were some girls that had beaten me before that were ranked 9th & 10th so I could easily lose my medal since they medaled to 8 but only 6 made finals. I made it through Prelims pretty easy by taking 3rd. Semis however was were it would be scary. Top 3 would make it to finals out of the semi heats. There were 3 girls that had ran a 16.9 before in my heat & I had only ran 18 flat before. So I was TERRIFIED! I gave it everything I had & during the last 3 hurdles I started to catch the 3rd girl. (An enemy of mine how convenient) She got really scared going over the last hurdle because I had caught up to her...she crashed...hard. I crossed the line & was in complete shock because I was going to finals! When I found out my time I just about flipped! I had ran a 17.5! yey! Then in finals I took 4th & was the only Freshman to make it to finals!

Track Regionals 300m Hurdles: After the 100m hurdles got over I had found out that my sister had been rushed to the hospital for severe pnemonia & that my family had just left the meet so I was there alone. My 4th & final event was the 300m hurdles & I hadn't been successful in qualifying for state yet & it meant the world to me! I was REALLY nervous because I was ranked 4th & I had to get the additional qualifier or place in the top 2 to make it to state. The gun went off & so do the girls. I studdered SOO bad! I knew I was in trouble. I crossed the line in 4th & now everything was in the hands of the timer. I needed a 50.4 to qualify which is something I had done before. As I turned in my placement stick I glanced at my time...a 51.0. Instant tears. I didn't make it. Plus since my family wasn't there I didn't have anyone to go to except for my coach who was in complete shock when I walked over to him. At our Track banquet he brought up the fact that for the week that followed regionals as word had spread that I didn't make it, everyone was in shock. It was something that everyone just assumed would work out...that I'd make it. I started crying so bad in front of everyone at the banquet.
This is a moment in which I think about every night before I go to sleep & most of the time I cry about it. It's something though that is going to motivate more than ever to make it next year & it's also something that has helped push me through this summer's miles.

(Sorry this is really long.)

nothing comes up to mind for me lol.

but your new avatar is pretty cool

alex-likes-running wrote:
but your new avatar is pretty cool

Oh thanks.

Best: Being seated last in the mile and winning it at counties (slow heat)
Worse: Doing crappy at xc districts and not going to states.

My best moment was when I broke 5 with a 4:52, coming in 3rd in a fairly stacked race (the conditions weren't great). They told me my time and I was just so relieved and overjoyed I can't even fathom it now.

A 4:39 10th grader told me I "smashed his freshman PR" (5:00) and that still makes me smile today.

Best: Finishing the marathon.

Worst: Waking up at 4:30 to run an 30k, and then getting sick to the point of puking pre race, and not even starting the run.

Good moment:
My first 8 mile run. Before that, the farthest I had ever gone was only 3, and I so didn't think I could make it. My coach didn't think so either. She told me I could turn around at the two mile point and only do four. I felt alright at the two mile point, so I kept going. The look on her face when she saw that I was still with everyone at the turn around point was priceless, and it really made me believe that I could do more than what people thought I could. I finished the eight miles, smiling the whole way. I know that's really corny haha, but I was still proud.

Bad moment:
There is an eight mile race around the lake in my town every year. It is super hilly and very difficult. I was so excited.
The morning of the race, I was warming up and I got a horrible side stitch. I never get side stitches. It didn't go away during my warm up, but I decided to start the race anyway. The first mile was completely uphill. It was painful, but I was going along at a good pace, towards the front of the pack, despite everything. Then, my knee started to hurt. I managed to run until the two mile mark and I just couldn't take it anymore. Then I limped about a mile and saw that the ambulance wasn't too far ahead. I didn't want to keep going and hurt myself even more. But I couldn't go fast enough to catch the ambulance. After limping to the four mile mark, I used a volunteer's phone to call my mom and tell her to come pick me up. I was not going to finish this race. She finally showed up after another mile and a half of me limping along the side of the road. We drove for about half a mile, and then I saw one of my good friends from track limping along the side of the road. I decided to get out of the car and limp with her. We limped/ran/limped/ran the last two miles in and finished in like an hour and a half.
Then, I was stupid and kept training on my injured knee and at a 5k a week after, I hurt it even more and was injured and unable to run for a month. It sucked.

That was long sorry.

FinishingKick wrote:My best moment was when I broke 5 with a 4:52, coming in 3rd in a fairly stacked race (the conditions weren't great). They told me my time and I was just so relieved and overjoyed I can't even fathom it now.

A 4:39 10th grader told me I "smashed his freshman PR" (5:00) and that still makes me smile today.

me and my friend were both going for sub 5 and he went 4:52 and i was pushing so hard to hit under and it was a 4:59.9 and we just hugged each other (a little weird) but we were just so happy

A kid that would be a Senior died a couple years ago and we always have a meet on his birthday that meet we all just run for him and we don't even say anything we just know...i just think its pretty cool.

My best moment was last year when it was early in the season and our coach wasn't really sure who to put in the varsity race at our first initational. Anyway, I got put in the JV race and came in second... almost first, but I got passed in the last 400m. But I was still sooo happy because it was just so fun to actually almost win something/place... even if it was just jv. And my time was really good. It was faster than all my teammates who ended up in the varsity race... but there are really too many variables for that to mean much... because I'm actually like #6 on my team.

best moment: last track season at my SAC meet. my distance coach had to leave early because he had some class, so I was left with the sprinters coach to let me know how I was doing & give me my splits. before this meet I felt like I really needed my coach there. at that point I was concentrating on my splits, so without the distance coach there I was lost. anyways, he tells me to just stick with the pack & run. I do that for the most part & I end up PRing by 40 seconds in the 2 mile. I was really happy & when I called the coach on the phone that night, he was so surprised.

best: last xc race of my hs career, PR'd for the second race in a row. great way to end it.

worst: early in xc season my grandmother died. i went to school that day and had an xc race in the afternoon and decided to run. i made it halfway through the course, to the top of the huge hill and my coach was there cheering and i saw her and just started bawling. i couldnt stop crying. i walked the rest of the course with her.

ND XC 23 wrote:best: last xc race of my hs career, PR'd for the second race in a row. great way to end it.

worst: early in xc season my grandmother died. i went to school that day and had an xc race in the afternoon and decided to run. i made it halfway through the course, to the top of the huge hill and my coach was there cheering and i saw her and just started bawling. i couldnt stop crying. i walked the rest of the course with her.

The day of one of our invites my grandma passed away, it was really weird and surreal. That night i raced the 2 mile under the lights and pr'ed by almost a minute. It was definitely a hard race for more than one reason

BA_Sadie. wrote:A kid that would be a Senior died a couple years ago and we always have a meet on his birthday that meet we all just run for him and we don't even say anything we just know...i just think its pretty cool.

We go to a meet every year that is held in memory of this boy that tied during track practice for that team and they always have a moment of silence for him.

Best moment: Running a 12:06 3200 to qualify for state. I was so happy and the girl who beat me in that race came and gave me hug and my distance coach was in tears. Or another moment was finding out I was ranked 7th in the state for xc. That was pretty cool since it's coaches from across the state who vote for the runners each week and to know that they thought I was that good.

Worst moment: Taking 3rd at regionals in the 3200 my freshman year. I missed going to state by one place and I was right with the other 2 the whole race. This year those 2 girls weren't even close to me all season so that was cool.

hmm i've been thinking on this years past xc/track season and this is what i've come up with.

best moment: my first track race. it was the 1500m and and the only time i raced it was in a time trial a week ago and i ran a 6 flat. i wasnt really sure what speed i was going during the race, but i heard my coach and teammates cheering me, and when i finished, i was told i ran a 5:25. so i was happy for the improvement. another good race was a 5k roadrace like a month ago, where i ran a 5:09 for the first mile. i pretty much died after that, but i was happy for the PR.

worst moment: losing to 2 teammates in my last track race. these were guys i could easily beat at the beginning of the season, and in xc, but my ankle injury cost me 5 weeks of training, so i lost to them by like 2 seconds. it wasnt so much losing to them (because we're all good friends), but my coach pissed me off cuz he kept rubbing it in.

alex-likes-running wrote:another good race was a 5k roadrace like a month ago, where i ran a 5:09 for the first mile. i pretty much died after that, but i was happy for the PR.

I know someone who has never gone sub 5:30 on a track, but insists that he ran a 5:02 in the first mile of a 5k (there's no way). You might be different because you hadn't had a chance to run a mile in a while (because of your injury), but be wary of mile stops in road races.

Best moment: I ended up running in JV counties last year for outdoor, and was a little embarassed. Sure, I'm not fast, but running in a JV-only meet made me uncomfortable. It was like comfirmation that I hadn't made it to Varsity this year, though I had run two or three Varsity races. It was my last race of the season, and I had just run (about twenty minutes ago), my fastest 800 ever in the 4x8. Everyone was excited for me, but I wasn't happy. So in the open 8, I booked it and PRed again. I took second in that race and coach pulled me aside as I was going back to our spot in the bleachers and asked me where I wanted to go. If I wanted to run the 800 or the 400. He laughed and said, "I think I can make you into a helluva half-miler."

Of course I'm not that great, but it definitely was a highlight.

Worst: During cross country last year, I didn't take the best care about preparing for races. So at the end of August, on a day when it was 90+ degrees, I was too nervous to drink anything for nearly 24 hours before I ran. I got destroyed in the race, and when I reached the finish line I couldn't quite figure out where I was. I ended up with heatstroke and having to go to the hospital. It was disappointing and upsetting--I couldn't believe I had done that and everyone started treating me like a child...as though I wasn't smart enough to hydrate.

Sorry! Mine was long too....

BA_Sadie. wrote:A kid that would be a Senior died a couple years ago and we always have a meet on his birthday that meet we all just run for him and we don't even say anything we just know...i just think its pretty cool.

This year when we went to the Central Lake Invite for track (Ryan Shay's Hometown) They had a moment of silence before the 3200m run. They went through all of his accomplishments and PR's. One of the teams wore shirts that said "We Heart Ryan" (There was a heart in place of the word "heart"). After the moment of silence they gave his parents a set of the shirts. It was a total tear jerker... I looked over to my coach who was explaining to some of the girls who didn't know who Ryan was who he was, and he was cryng. Totally sad moment. The first few laps of the 2 mile was pretty much silent.

FinishingKick wrote:

alex-likes-running wrote:another good race was a 5k roadrace like a month ago, where i ran a 5:09 for the first mile. i pretty much died after that, but i was happy for the PR.

I know someone who has never gone sub 5:30 on a track, but insists that he ran a 5:02 in the first mile of a 5k (there's no way). You might be different because you hadn't had a chance to run a mile in a while (because of your injury), but be wary of mile stops in road races.

yeah, im gonna do like a mile time trial when i get back home so i can run it on a track to see if it was legit or not.

Best moment: So usually at league meets (for the mile) i come in 5th. At finals, they take the top 3, and everyone pretty much knew who was going to make it. It was pretty easy to figure out. All the coaches were relaxed knowing that their girls would be fine. The day before, at a prep meeting or whatever, one of our assistant coaches begins to point out who will make it for sure. So he never mentions me, and i get really motivated. im like 'im gonna show him!!'
at the meet, i hold 3rd place the whole way, and on the home strech, i beat the girl ahead of me and come in 2, and with a pr.
some coaches were comming up to me saying 'where dod you come from?" and stuff, and my assistand coach was speechless. I was super excited that day!!!

FinishingKick wrote:

alex-likes-running wrote:another good race was a 5k roadrace like a month ago, where i ran a 5:09 for the first mile. i pretty much died after that, but i was happy for the PR.

I know someone who has never gone sub 5:30 on a track, but insists that he ran a 5:02 in the first mile of a 5k (there's no way). You might be different because you hadn't had a chance to run a mile in a while (because of your injury), but be wary of mile stops in road races.

I know a kid who is a total joke who claims he ran a 5:10 mile freshman year. It was a road mile which was basically a straight downhill shot, and tons of middle-aged slobs ran in the 4:30's.....he insists that "it might have been downhill but I still ran it." Maybe I should go 3200 meters up in a helicopter and skydive my way to a new 3200 pr

worst moment: i finished last in my first high school race. went out in around 63, finished in 5:20.

worst: crappy cross country season last year

best: running a 10:17 3200 in the last race for track.

Worst: Freshman XC time trial. 24:5x.
I'll come up with a best later.