A Race to the Finish

The weather is nice a slight breeze the warm sun beating down on my shoulders.  Their we are lined up over a hundred of us all anxious for the sound of the gun.  At first my team huddled and gave a speech to pump us up.  When the gun sounded it felt as if the world was miles away as i raced through the hills and holes of what was my last race.  I gave it my all and i beat all of the others on the jv team.  I even got top fifteen in the race.  Nothing seemed to matter in the race i ran it like every other with all my detrimenation and force.  After the race it didn't really dawn on me that this was the last race with a team i would even dare as to call my second family.  Sure i was sad when i realized that i had just finished the race of my highschool career and possibly the rest of my life but it didn't really effect my that much.  On Saturday of last week though we had our annual banquet and the official end to our season.  We ate food, joked and around and handed out awards to the seniors including me.  I got a team picture with almost everybodies signatures and i also got another picture deal with my times and pictures of me running,  the last thing i got was my board in the shape of a shoe they put outside of the school.  Still though i didn't really feel all sad about it being over but it still hurt a little.  Finally we played a slideshow of all of us running in the season then suddenly it all hit me i felt like crying but i held it in till i left.  Suddenly i realized that i had already ran my last race with a team i had been runnign with for the better and worse of 3 years.  Suddenly it hit me that i would no longer race with some of my best friends.  It was a sad but proud feeling that hit me sad to leave them but proud to say i ran step by step with them through the good and the bad.  Looking back now that last race meant the world to me and i wasnt going settle anything less then a top fifteen finish and sure enough step by step mile for mile passing person by person i acheived that goal.  But all and all i'd have to say no matter the times or places i got i gave it my all and will forever remember the team i sometimes called my second family.