In the 21st century it is more common to find teenagers in front of the television than outside running. Many people cannot imagine running seven, eight or even nine miles a day, even fewer people think about running for fun. Being one of the few people who enjoys running for fun, I count myself lucky. A runner can run many different races such as 3 miles, 5k, 10k, a half marathon which is 13.1 miles, and marathon, which is 26 miles and 385 yards.

Running has many benefits. However, I don’t run for the benefits but for the fun of racing. Nothing to me is better than the adrenalin rush at the beginning of a race.

The beginning of a cross country race is like nothing else I have ever experienced before. Most cross country races are 5k or 3 mile races have at least 60 people on the starting line, all pumped up and ready to run. As the starting gun goes off, chaos breaks out as each runner takes off, trying to get in the front and not stuck in the back. With elbows being thrown, dust being kicked up into the air, and runners being pushed and jostled around, it is a full-out sprint to get into a good position. After a couple of minutes, the adrenalin rush wears off and people start to drop off from the intense pace of the race. Within the last 400 meters of the race, everyone starts to push themselves to pass as many people as possible and not get passed by anyone before the finish.

Running in a cross country race is fun and tough, but within the last couple of months I have discovered an even better race for me. The 400 meters dash in track is one lap around the standard outdoor track, and in high school, the race lasts about 50 to 65 seconds. During the race each runner is required to run in his lane for the duration of the race. Therefore, each runner is staggered out so whoever is in lane one is in the back and the lane eight runner is in the front. However, by the time the runners are 300 meters into the race it is evened out.

For me, the start of the 400 meter dash is the hardest part of the race because coming out of the starting blocks is complicated but not hard. You don’t want to be stuck in the blocks for a long time but you don’t want to be the last one down into the blocks. The start is also hard because you can’t see the starter and have to sit there and wait for the gun to go off. The more complicated the race the more fun I have doing it.

Running is all about fun and the more fun you have, the easier running becomes.