Although Im no longer a part of the De Smet Cross Country team anymore, I just wanted to say a few words. These words come before one of the biggest races of the year…RIM ROCK. And read all of it, I know its long…you have a lot of time to think in college.
I went on my longest run of my young college career (1 hour, 3 minutes). Granted it wasn’t very long, I encountered a phrase that really hit home to me; a phrase that I believe I like to live by, and one that I did live by during cross country days
First my background: My nickname was the bulldog. Who came up with it I don’t know, and honestly I don’t care. The meaning behind it though is what counts. I gave everything I had day in and day out. Whether it was grueling tempos, a Bender 40 when it was nearly 95 degrees, or out there on race day, I gave it my all. That’s what being a Bulldog was about for me. I knew I wasn’t a talented runner based on my background (baseball….yeah I know I was the TEAM TOOL). When I started I was also out of shape, having never run more than 3 miles in my life at one point. Even based on the sheer company of teammates I had (Abernathy, Seiler, Potter, Scherping, Matt O’Connor, Waller, Martini) and even those who came before me (Connor Callahan, Gibson, Lawder, Bender, Boyle) I knew it would be hard for me to compete, yet alone make a splash as a top 7 runner.
Going back to my run today, I found a war memorial, for all of those who have fought for this country, in both foreign and domestic wars. In the middle of this memorial lies a quote from Winston Churchill; a quote I believe I lived out“If you’re going through hell, keep going”.
I can’t count you all the times I wanted to stop doing the tempos, take a break on a 141 and back, or just quit running overall (in the beginning of course). The point being, I didn’t give up. Not only this, but I pushed harder. I knew I would never run a 16:00 5k, I knew I’d never run a 5:00 mile. What I did know is that if I worked my butt off day in and day out, I could not only make a splash in the top 7, but I could be a top 5 runner. That I did. Granted I was only the 5th place runner most of the time, I knew I succeeded. Saying that, I knew while holding this spot on the team, I had to work even harder. Many people say that your team is only as good as its weakest link. I was that last link many times. It didn’t matter if I had to gruel out an extra mile, an extra set of strides, or my favorite, an extra workout session, I had to get “my moneys worth”
Now where does this tie into you runners currently on the team. Well for some of you, it Rim Rock Weekend. I remember last year’s race, and how John Waller went as hard as he could for as long as he could to push the pack and keeping us together (this earned him ROW honors). This race marks a good test of where you are. Are you good enough to compete in MCC, Districts, Sectionals, and State. How far are you willing to push yourself through this race and the rest of the season to make sure your team get to Jefferson City? This is where you can experience that hell, and come through with flying colors (cough cough…a Bulldog).
As for the rest of you, how far are you willing go to get to a varsity position. As far as I know, Austin is a literal definition of a Bulldog….Soccer and Cross Country, IN THE SAME SEASON. He goes through hell every day. But are you willing to take your tempos seriously to get better? Are you willing to take you long runs and recovery days as days to get better?
This is the point where you guys have to make this decision. Are you all willing to put it on the line for each other for the betterment of the team? Are you willing to put in that extra ounce of energy you didn’t think you had to get better as a runner? I promise if you decide to work hard for the rest of the season, this team will achieve great things, from the freshmen to the seniors. Strive to get better each day, one second at a time, and before you know it, you’ll have your opportunity to shine. Push as hard as you can, and you’ll get much more right back.
Gentle, I challenge you to go through hell and back. You don’t win a 110% award for taking it easy. Challenge yourself, and great things will come.
Good luck at Rim Rock this weekend. And good luck the rest of the way.
Sincerely
John C. Madey
Class of 2011
Bulldog
