Cross Country Reunion
This past weekend, I was at Portola Redwoods State Park for a San Mateo High Cross Country reunion campout!
It was really great to see Coach Tuff and her family and all my running buddies from high school. We went on a hilly hike and joked about how we weren’t in shape anymore haha. Back in the day, we ran up those hills everyday, over and over again.
Being a reunion of sorts, I enjoyed catching up and just being in everyone’s company once again. I can’t believe it’s already been over four years since I graduated from high school and the team. We shared a lot of “Remember when…” and “I can’t believe we used to do that…”
I think Alex put it best by saying, “When I run all-out now… and remember the feeling of the races, I do kind of wonder sometimes why I kept doing it. I think it was mostly the team dynamic.”
We all came out for cross country, each for similar or different reasons, and ran hundreds to thousands of miles together. We pushed each other, raced each other, supported each other. All those mile repeats, hill workouts, long runs, and races brought us together, as a team and as friends. I joined cross country because it was the one sport that fit my schedule, but ended up loving every part of it.
The aches and pains of running so many miles probably wouldn’t have been so tolerable if it were not for my teammates toughing it out through beside me. There was almost a natural camaraderie, from shared effort and struggle. Somehow we all survived, with the best words to say about it too.
Let’s make this reunion campout an annual event :)
Photo credit: Carrie Peralta (Thanks for organizing!)
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Hey Stanley, Well said. I had always wondered why you all did it. I have always been convinced that the camaraderie of the team was the strongest factor of the growth and maturation of all of you guys. I know that this group of athletes will always have a very special spot in Mary’s heart.
You guys always endured the hard work with a smile on your faces and a tremendous will to improve. Mary was very flattered to be invited and would not miss the weekend at any cost. We are already looking forward to next years event.
I loved cross country, the team, and everything about it :)
I’m looking forward to the next campout too!
great picture. so cool to stay connected through the years and see what your pals are up to. amazing the path each of you will take that you’d never have believed if you’d had talked about it years ago… btw, more posters for camp kesem. interested in having someone pick them up? light enough to carry w/out box.
Definitely love catching up. I am looking forward to reunions (high school, clubs, etc) coming soon!