Road to Running

Follow Cape Elizabeth senior Mitch Morris as he embarks on his final xc season. Morris a newcomer to xc last fall is the top returning runner in Class B from the state meet a year ago. Mitch will be looking to chase the individual title, as well as try to lead his team to a third straight Class B title. On the track Morris showed his skills this winter running a 9:36.51 for 2 miles.

 

This is part two of the story of how my running career got started, part one can be found here: http://me.milesplit.com/articles/133589-road-to-running-a-blog-by-mitch-morris#.VBb5bkuLQTs

 

 

 

Before I knew it, June and July had come and gone, and as I awoke on the morning of the race I couldn't have been more unsure of myself.  I hadn’t trained. I didn’t have running shoes, short shorts, lightweight shirts or high-tech socks. I had no idea what a kilometer was. And as I stood amongst the masses in the seven-minute pace corral, poised for the starting gun, there was only one thing left to do: run. So that’s what I did. Ignoring my feelings of insecurity, self doubt, and the searing pain from a slapshot swing to the knee I had received the day before in a street hockey game, I ran, as best I knew how.

 

I don’t remember much about the race, but I do remember my time: 41:13. Nothing special, I thought then, and still think now, just a decent time for a fifteen year old. Clearly, however, my future coach, Derek Veilleux, thought differently. Apparently he noticed my time and was impressed by it, because sure enough, just a few weeks later, my Facebook inbox was full of messages from someone with the strange username Maine Track XC. As I now know, my Beach to Beacon time put me in third place for the Cape Elizabeth cross country team. A team that Derek assured me was State Championship caliber. A team that he invited me to join.

 

I flatly rejected his invitation. Although my decision may seem crazy, and is definitely regrettable in hindsight, you have to understand how much soccer meant to me at this point in my life. Each day I went to three triple session practices, and spent nearly every hour in between practicing my basic skills and mechanics. Every weekend I scoured the internet for a way to watch my favorite team, A.C. Milan, fight off the impending threat of obscurity, and each night I slept with their proud red and black colors hanging on a flag above my head. In addition, I was finally gaining a foothold in Cape Soccer; on a team with over forty players, that was not an easy thing to do as an incoming Sophomore, but it seemed as though my persistence and hard work was paying off, as I was able to distinguish myself that summer as a capable left midfielder, by virtue of my passing, ball control, and most of all, my speed (not a sign that I picked up on). I was even seeing some varsity playing time in our summer league and alumni matches.

 

For all of these reasons, I told Derek that I could not run for his team, not just because I didn't think I’d be any good at competitive running, but because I was in love with soccer. That love affair promptly ended when, just weeks later, I found myself too sick to stand, and removed from the varsity team.