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Lead Stories: Tuesday, December 2, 2008

SoundOFF: Images, Media, and the State of Our Sport

Posted June 9th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Success Stories, Track & Field, SoundOFF, Columns, High School

This past weekend I went the Ohio High School Track & Field Championships, a meet I’ve missed only once since I first attended as a high school sophomore in 1987. I like it for a number of reasons; the competition is fierce, the meet is well-organized, the athletes cannot hide their love of the sport, and I get to see a lot of old friends. This year’s meet wasn’t much different from all the rest–some great marks, kids having the time of their life, battles that go right to the finish line. But I took away something from this meet I’ve never experienced before.

I love to run and compete, but I’ve always thought my only talent is hard-headedness. I suppose all distance runners downplay their inherent physical abilities, but I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever beaten another male runner of a similar age who takes running more seriously than I do. My best high school 1600-meter time was 4:56, and that after several years of very hard work. I simply have always believed that I had few if any physical abilities, mostly because I see my body is all wrong for distance running.
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