A Different Type of Strong Finish

I am an assistant cross-country coach at our local high school. This week at our meet, I saw something that reminded me why I love this sport.

We have a freshman on the team — he’s new, learning the ropes, and working harder than he ever thought he could. At the start of the season, he was shocked to learn that after a one-mile warm-up… there was more running to do. Now he’s finishing every 5K he starts. That alone is a victory.

But this week, something even better happened. As he came around the course for his second loop, the fastest runners were already finishing. I started to jog out to check on him, expecting to find him alone, digging deep to get to the end. Instead, I heard cheering.

Coming around the bend was our freshman — but he was surrounded by a pack of girls from our team. They had already finished their race, but they went back out to find him and run him in. No one asked them to. No one told them to. They just did it.

That’s the type of win that doesn’t show up in the results.

Resilience, kindness, teamwork — this is what lifts a team. It’s also what lifts us in life.

So here’s your reminder for the week: do the small things that lift others up. In doing so, you’ll find yourself rising, too.*

*PS. I'm not just blowing smoke here to make you want to play nice. This is scientifically backed! Check my work at the National Institutes of Health.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5456281/#:~:text=The%20tendency%20to%20engage%20in,prefrontal%20cortex%20and%20temporoparietal%20junction.