Cross country for student athletes can be challenging enough. The endurance, the stamina, and the mental toughness all play key roles in establishing a successful runner. Cross country for injured students                   athletes, though, is especially challenging.

         Two injured student athletes at PLHS, Jenna Secord, and Avery Delwiche, discovered different outlooks on their injuries.

        In such a short time for the cross country season, the hardest thing could’ve been watching everyone else run the courses you’d longed to race.

        “It was hard to watch everyone else run because I ran throughout my 7th grade and 8th grade year,” student Avery Delwiche said. “Cross country has always been my sport so it was tough to be stuck at the track.”

        For other injured students, whom haven’t been injured the entirety of the season, have figured that overcoming adversity has been slightly less challenging.

        “My foot pain only started at the end of the season,” athlete Jenna Secord said. “So I didn’t have much trouble knowing the experience of racing.”

        Most would agree that having an injury in such a hard core sport would be an enormous setback for the athletes themselves.

        But for sophomore Grace Colbert, injuries have a more positive upside to the cross country season.

        “This probably sounds bad, but my injury has probably helped me more than it’s ruined me,” Colbert said. “It gives me a nice break from all the pressure of getting a certain time, or even a PR.”

        PR’s, or personal records, build a lot of stress on runners every season, like Colbert had mentioned.

        “It’s like if I don’t get a PR each race, then I’m really upset with myself afterwards,” freshman Secord said. “So having an injury, although devastating, allows me to get relief from all that stress.”

       And it’s not just injured cross country athletes who experience this, but it’s apparent in other sports where students are injured as well.

        “Being in other sports like soccer, I experience the same problems,” Secord said. “But I feel like what actually matters is that whether injured or not, each player is putting their best effort into their sport.”