As of this year, the middle school girls cross country team have been breaking records left and right. This year Ellia Mcclain, an eighth grader this year, won the Girls middle school 3200 meter cross country Armuchee Trail Run on September 14th. Ellia said, ¨I won because of my strategy, I usually like to start out my races a little bit fast to get in a good spot and get ahead of people and then I find a good steady pace that I can keep throughout the whole race.¨ Pushing herself while training also helped her a great deal. She said, ¨I pushed myself really hard this season more than I did in past years. I gave it my all and I’m just happy with how I finished the season.¨ The girls cross country practice from Monday to Thursday and they have Friday and Sunday off. On Saturday they have speed training which is 100 meter sprints and long distance training which is 2 mile jogs. This training has helped them achieve their goals and has helped Ellia win her race.
Coach Hanna Nabors is very proud of her team and how they have been improving their running time. One of the runners, Ridgely Sarratt, seventh grader, said, ¨I think coach Nabors is really proud of us and I think she always has been. She likes to push us more, she’s always talking about region and state and how it’s not just about this race, but it’s about the races to come.¨ Coach Nabors has taught them all to put their effort into their races. She also doesn’t just train the athletes for the upcoming event, she trains them for all of the events throughout the season by working hard for the team. That is what makes her an amazing coach for cross country, her ability to push the athletes for all of the season’s events.
Cross country itself can be a very hard sport to do. Running for extreme distances and trying to beat someone at the same time needs a serious amount of pacing and endurance. It takes training hard almost everyday to have that and even when you train like that the races can make some athletes pass out from exhaustion. Ridgely said, ¨The races are both mental and physical because it gets more mental the more you get through it.¨ The work and effort the girls cross country middle school team puts in is immense. They work day after day to win the races, make it to region, make it to state, and try to win the state title.
It’s not just the effort that the girls put in that helps them win races, it’s the team and their support for each other. Ellia Mcclain said, ¨Cross country has taught me to encourage my team and practicing with my team has been great for me because its helped me work hard for them so it’s just really good to practice with your team and encourage them¨ The team knows how important it is to support each other because they all depend on each other to win. This fellowship is what makes a great team. Ridgeleigh Surrat said, ¨I think we are all super kind to each other and we are always cheering for each other whenever we don’t have races¨ The girls cheering their team on when they don’t have races further shows how absolute and tightly bound this team is to each other.
On the team there is one particular athlete that stands out not only because she has the best PR on the team but she is also a great team leader, this runner is Ellia Mcclain. Her teammates see her as the team leader and the one who, if needed, can take charge. Ridgely said, ¨I’d probably say Ellia is the team leader because she just isn’t afraid to take charge and help her teammates.¨ Rigedly’s statement shows just how much Ellia’s teammates trust her to lead them through situations that coach Nabors can’t make a decision in. Ellia is great at pushing her teammates to their limit to become stronger. She knows how important it is for everyone to have a good mindset, physical strength, and endurance to do their very best. Pushing her teammates demonstrates her leadership roll in the team, helping everyone to grow physically and mentally.
One way to push these students to do their best is the student body cheering them on by the trail. It may not seem like it, but cheering for your team can have a big impact on their performance. Ellia Mcclain said, ¨Lots of people ranging from my team to my family members like my mom and my dad, they all cheered me on and it really encourages me because it gives me something to think about other than the pain in my legs.¨
Encouragement can be the difference when it comes to this kind of sport. It fuels the body with hope that you can win the race. Even in other sports, cheering on a player can truly push them to put in all of their effort to win. Lets go to the trail and cheer our team on this season and encourage them to put all of their effort into winning.
