Track and field is one of those sports that you might try out because you notice you have a little speed.

When you first get to the track and do a few strides and stretch a little, it seems like it’s all fun and games. But then you show up on a day when the running workout seems a little like death. Before you know it, you are fully committed to the sport.

This was me. Except, I love that feeling. I love the feeling of knowing I have absolutely nothing left in the tank and my body hurting in places I didn’t think was possible. I decided to go with track and continue to pursue my love for the sport in college.

Being a student-athlete is a great privilege, but it is also a great challenge. My first three years of college athletics were not a simple ride. I wanted to figure out how I could make this sport apply to my life. So I did.

Track taught me what it means to face your fears. It has helped me develop so many life skills that I will have forever ingrained in me. Track helps develop an undeniable work ethic, passion for life, persistence, determination and, most importantly, confidence.

What’s that? Confidence.

Confidence is what has gotten me through my senior year. Last year, September wasn’t a Cinderella story. I started out with a postponed fall training due to injury. I wasn’t able to train for about two months, and I immediately disregarded my indoor season, which started in January 2016.

Despite these feelings, I still did my best at rehab and treatment to get back to normal training. In this process I realized how much running meant to me. I wasn’t ready to give it up. Once I got back into normal training, I didn’t care about anything except having fun and facing my fear of failure.

This led to having a complete indoor season. Before I knew it, I was running at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships for the 4×4.

Going into the meet, I knew it was the big show and I had one job: run fast. It seems so simple, so I just clung to that same feeling of confidence; confidence and facing the fact that I could fail, but there was no room for failure.

Going away from my senior year, I know there’s always going to be failures in the “real world.” But I know that a failure can be a propeller to something greater.

I never thought I’d have a hard time giving up this sport, but running track and field for the UA is an experience that I will forever cherish.

Even though outdoor season is still in full effect, I only have four more weeks to cherish this sport and university. But the value that there is in being a student athlete at the UA will always be special. 

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