You can tell it’s cross country season at our house this week.

The group chat is starting to get fired up. The Prep Running Nerd content is analyzed on our phones. And the smell of Ortho Ease in the living room. That’s mom’s job. (Wink emoji)

For some it started yesterday, for us today. Even more tomorrow or early next week. This last season of cross country for us and, oh, how thankful we are to have found this community. Not only for you, Olivia, but, for our family too.

We talk about – I write about – journey’s a lot at our house. About how we should push ourselves. Push ourselves to do things and realize that the MAIN reason to do it is not for personal gain or success, but just that through the process we make ourselves better people.

I am not sure it’s possible to fully describe the love we have developed for cross country.

There have been tears. And doctor’s visits. Disappointing rides on golf carts. And, so much joy. The medals. The great runs. Not many kids say they get to go to the state meet three times in three years. You name it and we went through it. And there are so many more families who had to do it just like us -- who wouldn’t trade a single second of it for the world.

And neither would we.

I have often thought about what I wish I knew on the morning of August 27, 2021, that day of your first high school meet. The first thing I’d tell any new cross country parent is, boy, you aren’t in good enough shape. But you’ll figure that out soon enough.

What I am so glad I didn’t know was that I would learn to really appreciate cross country. I learned that watching you run makes me so happy that our family fell in love with this sport. You’ve seen me (probably too many times for your liking) tell so many others why I love watching you do what you do. Why I wish MORE kids (and their parents) could get to experience this sport.

There is no official to yell at. The coaches can’t call the wrong play. It’s just you and the course. No timeouts, no substitutions. Just you and grit and toughness.

And, we parents, with our cameras and our water bottles and our SCREAMING. Oh yeah, the screaming. And, not just for you but for everyone else, too. From first all the way to last, medal or no medal, personal best or not. Just show us that you will finish the race, and we’ll cheer for you. All the way to the finish line.

I love what you have been able to experience through this sport. The girls you have competed against, that you’ve looked up to and, most importantly, the ones you have learned to call “friend.” I am sure we’ll add to that list more over the next couple months.

I love that you’d send me a map. I’d go mark it on Google Earth so you knew where the 1k and the 2k and the 3k were. Or close to it anyway. I’ll miss that.

Or that you’d send “notes” from your phone on race day about where you were trying to be at each mark. I’ll miss that, too.

That’s cross country. And it’s why I love it.

Far away from the glitz and the glamour of Friday Night Lights (you know I love the lessons of football, too), or the state volleyball championships at the Devaney Center or the now televised state softball championships, YOUR sport has taught us so much. Our family is so glad that you brought us along this journey.

And, so today, August 30, 2024 is the last first race. If we are lucky enough there are ten races left. We can’t wait to watch you run. And, as your dad, I hope you find as much joy as you can in the grind of your season as you could in those first little fun runs. When dad could keep up with you.

Just like what you told me, you’d tell that little girl in the picture.

“Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to be perfect. Have fun and smile. You get to do this.” Those are your words to her. 

I hope you look at them often, that you believe them before the gun goes off each time or when the hill is too steep, the finish line too far away.

As for mom and dad? We can’t wait to see you turn it loose. Remember what Dr. Bob Rotella said?

“The minute you try not to mess up, you mess up. That’s what is hard for people to get their hands around, when you turn it loose you perform better.”

As for all those other families we’ll see out on the course this year — you moms and dads with state champions and others with kids just trying to crack the varsity roster — thanks for turning us into better people. Thanks for showing us how awesome cross country can be for so many.

To you runners, giving it your first go or your last, turn it loose. And, if you see a Convert or other aptly named Nerd behind a camera, well, let us know you see us. We like that.

But, most importantly, know this. We’ll be there to catch you at the end — great time or no, medal or no, your best day or your worst. Your grit and toughness are all that matters. All those awesome life lessons of cross country. We can’t wait to watch you run.

The Scenes From State