TAKE YOUR MARK: It all starts somewhere.

After a three hour rain delay at the 2007 Georgia High School State Track & Field finals, the gun finally went off for the 800m run. I was in lane one, in a strong field of eight, where everyone knew that even with the delay it was going to be a fast race. Coming into the bell lap, I was sitting in third place waiting for the right moment to surge. I had visualized this moment every night for two weeks leading up to the race and I knew what I had to do. As we entered the back stretch, it was time to make my move. I surged into the lead with 250m to go, using the turn as a sling shot to send me home. As I looked at the finish line and raced against the clock, all I could think about was how blessed I was - blessed by my family, blessed by my coaches, and blessed that I had an opportunity to do the one thing that I love more than anything…to run.

My mom used to always jokingly say that I ran before I walked and as I got older I learned that she was actually telling the truth. Granted, the runs I went on consisted of a baby jogger propelled by my mom or dad, but to me, I was still running! I do not remember a moment when I wasn't running while growing up. As I got older, I would go on frequent runs with my mom after school. It was our time to spend together. Those runs quickly turned into training sessions and I slowly began to have an urge to start racing. We would end almost every half mile or so of our runs pushing each other to run faster and faster. We knew we were getting closer to home when the talking slowed down and the pace picked up. My mom has always been a huge influence on my running. She is the reason that I still love it as much as I do today.

"I do not remember a moment when I wasn't running while growing up."

My competitive running career started in the fall of 2005, my freshman year of high school, when I tried out for the varsity cross country team. I was the only underclassman that made the team. That was the year we got second in State. Overall, I finished tenth individually. The following year, I went into my sophomore year with the same seven varsity runners I had been on the team with before. We had high hopes of winning State as a team that year. After pushing each other every day and training extra hard, we swept Regionals and got to State. We placed second, again. This time, I finished third individually overall. After placing third at State as a sophomore, I decided that I was going to run track. Going into the track season I didn't really know what to expect but I was excited for the new challenges. I had a great first half of the season and had high hopes for what I could potentially accomplish. Then, out of the blue I got hit with an injury. I was diagnosed with a stress reaction, which is the beginning stage of a stress fracture in my tibia. After taking six weeks off, I was able to start training again with only two weeks left until the Regional meet. I was able to qualify for State by placing second in the one mile race and first in the two mile race. The State meet left me with less satisfying results, placing sixth in the two mile and ninth in the one mile race.

Heading into my junior year, I had high expectations for both cross country and track. My body had a different idea in mind. Three quarters of the way through the season, my leg started acting up again. I went back to the doctor and he told me that yet again, I had a stress reaction in my tibia. The injury caused me to miss cross country State that year and I was a little frustrated. I met with my coaches and we discussed taking a slower start into the track season to avoid potentially getting hurt again, so that is exactly what we did. I started training for the track season about six weeks later then I normally would have. The slower approach did the trick and I was healthy enough to run at State that year. I qualified for the 800m and 1600m run where I was seeded first and second, respectively. That Thursday evening of the State meet, I ended up winning the 1600m run in 4 minutes and 24 seconds. Right after the race, I jumped into an ice bath and got prepared to run in the 800m prelims the next day. In 2007, I had been undefeated in the 800m run and as I was coming into the final turn during prelims, I was in second place. Even though the top four made it to the finals, I wanted to keep my perfect season. I won the prelim race and went on to win the 800m finals the next day in 1 minute and 55 seconds. After a great end to my junior year, I was determined to stay healthy for my senior season of cross country.

I made it a little over half of the season before my leg started acting up. Once again, I went to the doctor and was told it was another stress reaction. Frustrated and wanting to know if something else was wrong, I decided to visit another doctor. I found out that I had developed chronic compartment syndrome from training so much. The doctor told me that the only solution to the problem was surgery. I wasn't too worried about having surgery, I was just afraid that I may not be able to run track my senior year to defend my two State titles. Once the doctor affirmed that I would only be looking at a four to six week recovery, I was all in!

"...but little did I know, that run in Charleston would be the last run I would go on with my parents for four years."

I ran through the pain at State cross country that year where I finished tenth individually. I was frustrated with my time, but based on the circumstances I was not extremely disappointed. My surgery date was set for November 29, 2007, about two weeks after State finals and at the tail end of our Thanksgiving break. My family went on a trip to Charleston, S.C. that year to enjoy some time away and spend time together. On the last morning of our trip and the day before my surgery, my parents and I got up early to drive into town for one last run. It was a beautiful crisp morning in Charleston. We ran through the streets and admired the amazing architecture that the city has to offer. I remember telling my parents that this would be the last run I went on with pain in my legs caused by compartment syndrome and how excited I was to have the surgery so I could train properly. At the time, that seemed like a great thing to say but little did I know, that run in Charleston would be the last run I would go on with my parents for four years.

Click here to continue to "SET: My 'Track' record".