In the week leading up to the intramural cross-country race, I kept telling myself, “It’s only two miles. Two miles of running never hurt anyone.”

After the race ended, my legs shook and my stomach was woozy for almost an hour.

Yet, I hadn’t felt that fulfilled in a very long time.

To give a little back-story, I’ve never run a cross country race before. In the weeks leading up to Sunday’s intramural cross country race, my workout consisted of one trip to the Lied Recreational Athletic Center to play basketball with friends. I planned to go running a few times a week, but other things came up.

After the race was over – and my head had cleared up enough to write my thoughts down coherently on paper – I thought back to a week ago, when I decided to go the extra mile by not only writing about the race, but entering it.

Upon arriving at the ISU cross country course, I realized I was racing against some serious runners. The evidence leading me to this conclusion was the length of the competitors’ running shorts -the shorter the shorts, the more serious the runner. Most shorts being worn were at least three inches above the knees. I was the only runner in shorts that crept past my kneecaps, and it hit me that I was completely out of my element.

Linda Marticke, intramural sports coordinator, called everyone to the starting line and, after some brief instructions, counted down and we were off and running.

I decided my best course of action was to hang back and pace myself. I started strong, but with each quarter-mile, running became more difficult. I was breathing harder with each step. My arms and legs were weakening from pumping back and forth. I forced myself to stay on my toes and keep good running form. As I ran past the one-mile marker, I felt increasingly tired.

With a quarter-mile left, a wave of exhaustion rolled over me. My steps slowed down and my arms pumped less.

Looking ahead, I realized I was nearing the finish line and I smiled. As I rounded the corner to the final straightaway, I began to run harder. I could see a crowd at the finish line, cheering the remaining runners on. I had enough energy left to sprint the final 50 yards.

Suddenly, I felt very light-headed. I grabbed for a cup of water as fast as I could. As I poured the water into my mouth, it felt like everything around me was spinning. I sat down and tried to regain my senses. I was so out of it, I almost forgot to interview other runners until my girlfriend reminded me.

“Maybe you should talk to people about the race for your story,” she said.

“[The race] was a fun, relaxed two miles,” said Nathaniel Oster, sophomore in materials engineering. “Running is a great stress reliever.”

I was impressed with how energized these guys look. Looking around, I realized I was one of the most exhausted runners. It was quite a humbling experience, and I now have a new appreciation of runners.

“It’s great to go out with friends and run,” said Jacob Holen, freshman in engineering.

“We run about three to four days a week.”

I finished 30th out of 42 runners, at a time of 15 minutes, 34 seconds.

I was happy about my performance, but I accomplished much more than a goal. I now understand the appeal of running.

The rush of emotions you feel while running is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

As soon as I finished the race, I had a yearning to go out and run again.

– Cody Saveraid is a junior in journalism and mass communication from De Soto.