People ask me, why do I run?

I run because I can. Because when I do, there's always the chance to be extraordinary. A chance to start unknown and to finish unforgettable. A chance to overcome all obstacles, to fight through pain and suffering to test your emotional limits and boundaries, to experiment with the potential of the human body and discover just how far you can push yourself. And a chance to feel like a completely different person, a person who inspires others, and who they strive to be.

That girl who yearns to always be number one, that girl who dedicates her life to this sport, that girl who looks invincible and effortless when she's racing, like nothing can faze her. That girl you don't believe you're capable of being, until you stand on the starting line in position to run, waiting for the trigger to be pulled, your heart pounding with adrenaline, your hands shaking with energy and fear. The gun goes off, and everything changes. From that moment on, there's only one conscious thought pounding in your mind for the entirety of the race. Finish. At that moment, life is about being the best version of yourself and nothing else matters.

Running is about knowing that all those hours of training are just for this short race, only a few minutes long. That's why it's so hard, forcing every second of pain and agony in this race to be an example of every step, every workout, every mile you ran before it.

Running is about the time during the race when your mind wanders to your own special world where no one can reach you or touch you, where you're able to break down the barriers you never even knew existed, experience pain that you've never felt before, and feel the determination, the tenacity, the pure and simple commitment to yourself for success. It's about when the voice inside your head that kept yelling, "I can't" stops, and a new voice, a stronger voice, takes its place and whispers, "I can." It's about when the finish line is visible on the final straightaway, or when you hear them scream that you have one lap to go, and you search within yourself to give it every last bit of energy you have left.

It's about judging how well you ran a race not only by the time on the clock, but also by the feeling in your legs and arms after you stopped running, the pounding of your heart after crossing the finish line, whether or not you were able to stand or speak right after shakily handing in your tag to the official.

It's about those few moments of glory after the end of the race, where the world around you is spinning and walking in a straight line is impossible--that moment when you can't help but smile, because even though you may not have won or beaten anyone else, you know that you gave absolutely everything you possibly could into that race and there's nothing that you could have done better. You endured the pain, you found the courage to fight through the misery, you found beauty in the ache, the burn, the sheer torment you inflicted upon yourself, and that alone is an experience to be thankful for. And while you might not have a shiny medal or trophy to show for it, you learned something much more meaningful in that the person you thought you were is nothing compared to the person you are.

It's about how you took every ounce of strength and determination and passion and turned it into something to be proud of--not an object you can hold or touch or put on a shelf to show off to everyone, but a time, just a few trivial numbers thrown together by an automated clock. But each one of those numbers, down to the hundredth of a second, has a meaning beyond what you can comprehend.

That's why I run.

Laura Weisberger is a 16-year-old cross country and track runner from Ridgewood, N.J., with a mile PR of 5:15 and an 800m PR of 2:18.

High School Runner/Writers We want to highlight your stories. Send us your writing--about a great race, a great season, a great workout (or a bad one that taught you something), what you love about running--any writing that reflects the competitive runner's experience. We'll consider your story for print or web. Send to editor@runningtimes.com.

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