As a senior athlete whose 12 seasons of running recently came to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the lessons I learned from the sport, especially during the past four years on both the track and cross-country teams at RHS.

Over this time, I’ve grown to love running, and it has helped mold me into the person I am today. I’ve also learned countless lessons from the sport, and here are three of the most important ones.

1. Hard work and discipline are critical to success

I still remember my first week of cross-country practice as an incoming freshman. Before high school, I’d run in some recreational cross-country and track programs, but I’d never taken running seriously up until that point.

I had a rough start. On the first day of preseason, I had to stop to catch my breath during the team’s first 30-minute-long run. “Don’t walk, keep running,” I recall then-senior Daniel Houston (’22) yelling to me. Despite my best effort, I simply could not keep up with the fastest runners on the team, who were all seniors at the time.

This is one of the most important lessons that running has taught me over the years; if I want to become good at something, it takes hard work and discipline.

For the remainder of my freshman year, I looked up to the fastest runners on the cross-country team; I wanted to be just like them. After putting in some hard work, I ended my freshman year in spring track running a respectable 4:53 mile.

Sure, I like to run, but there were many days when I didn’t feel motivated enough to push through the pain any longer. It took self-discipline to keep working toward my goals as a runner, and it led me to continuously improve throughout my high school career. Running didn’t come easily to me at first, but as I put more effort into it, my personal bests only improved.

2. Consistency is key to achieving one’s goals

I’ve set many goals for myself during my running career at Randolph. One of the biggest was to run a mile under 4:20. This year, I came close during the winter track season, running 4:20.3.

I came in short many times before clocking in at under 4:20, but I knew that if I trained consistently, I’d eventually succeed. This year, I finally did, running my best PR yet, with a time of 4:16.7 at the Morris County Championships on May 21, 2025.

Through my experience of working toward achieving my personal best, I learned that it takes consistency to complete any big goal, and it will all be worth it once that goal has been achieved.

3. Setbacks are not the end

Last fall, in preparation for my final cross-country season as a senior, I was determined to train as hard as I could to finish my running career on a high note. My season got off to a great start; I was placing high up in local meets and even broke the school record in the 5k with a time of 15:46.

Unfortunately, things went downhill quickly. A few days after I broke the school record, I felt pain in my right foot and was forced to take the next four weeks off from running due to a stress reaction. This meant I’d be out for most of October, the mid-season, when championships were approaching.

Despite my frustration, I did all I could to stay in shape while placing minimal impact on my foot. My only good options were using an indoor bike and aqua jogging, which is running underwater in a pool.

It was difficult finding the motivation to keep pushing on when I knew I’d only be able to return to running right before the first round of states. Eventually, however, I was able to rejoin the team, only a week before the state sectional meet. I didn’t give up and, to my surprise, placed fifth, qualifying me for the state championships two weeks later.

Getting injured during my senior year of cross-country taught me about the importance of resilience. Through my grit and perseverance, I was able to triumph over my injury.

With high school graduation now only days away, I realize how much the sport of running has helped me grow both physically and mentally. As I move on to college and beyond, I’ll never forget what I’ve learned from running for Randolph and hope to cherish these lessons for a lifetime.