A runner's High

By Ashton Salazar

People often play sports for the competitive aspect while others love the harsh endurance of preparing for a big game or competition. As track season approaches, Eva Gonzalez, a 16 year old track star, is excited to be returning to the Yerba Buena track team. 

When people want to take up different opportunities, they usually resort to different activities or hobbies, which was the case for Gonzalez. She wanted something different and a challenge to take on. In the beginning, she was originally dragged along by a friend who persuaded her to join the team.

Gonzalez: “Yeah, she kinda just dragged me along and I didn't know what to think at first”

After joining the team, she realized it would become a crucial part of her life. It was hard but as she describes it, 

Gonzalez : “The endurance felt good because after you feel accomplished”. 

Track routines usually rely on a lot of self discipline and being at the same pace as your peers. It was a struggle in the beginning due to how intense warm ups can get such as repeated lunges and sit ups until failure. Even though it was tough, the feeling of fulfillment afterward motivated her to keep going. But, once track season came to an end, she was back to her old routines where she would simply go to school and come back home.

Before track, there were no special interests she held to her heart other than music. She grew up playing softball but other than that, track was a new beginning for her. The track gave her peace of mind.

After experiencing her first track season, she was left with the motivation to keep running. Going on late afternoon runs got Gonzalez out of the house and productive. She combined the thing she already loved which was music with her new hobby which was running. Usually traveling the journey from her apartments to parks nearby, and occasionally she brought her mom along with her. 

Gonzalez : “music can motivate me to keep running”

To say the least, track heavily impacted her life in a way that created a more productive person. These daily runs gave her clarity and time to think about whatever was on her mind. A personal struggle at the time was silently feeling left out being the only brown person on the track team. 

Gonzalez: “I felt left out and I was the only brown person on the team”

It was not much of a struggle but more of a floating thought in her mind. Luckily, no one treated her differently, and track almost felt like a big family. Some of her favorite memories with her team consisted of eating at places like In and Out or BJ’s. To say the least, Gonzalez is happy to be on the track soon.