Cross Country

The trees lined the crowded path with hundreds of people carrying clipboards and shouting various numbers and words of encouragement. Then one by one at first you see sweat soaked teenagers at the point of exhaustion run by as the people cheer. Their hair is matted to their face by their perspiration, you can barely smell the scent of salt from them. Their faces are contorted in agonizing pain as they stumble by you. As each one passes you hear the screaming from spectators and coaches getting louder. This is a cross country race, the athletes here hold nothing back. They push themselves over a three mile course pushing through the crowds of other runners striving to be the best of the field.
The sky is gray and overcast, there will be no sunshine today. But the runners do...