As a young kid, I ran summer track, mixed in with Little League baseball, tennis, basketball, and probably a bunch of other sports that I don’t even remember. But it was in 8th grade, in my first year of being on the high school cross country team, that I learned to love running. It was over 30 years ago, but I can still remember the profound sense of personal accomplishment of running 5 miles (the poorly named “Boring 5” loop) for the first time. The experience of physical achievement was made sweeter and more meaningful by the sense of having found a place where I belonged – a team that truly had my back.
We hosted our MDE Summer Running Camp for high school and middle school runners last week, and prior to that, I was in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming with my daughter’s high school team. So I’ve been around high school runners a bunch lately, and it’s fun to see so many common threads of the experiences they’re having and the experiences of our team members and even myself. Things have changed a lot for today’s young athletes, with technology, knowledge, social media, etc., but at the end of the day, the same things that have always mattered still matter the most.
I’ve been involved with the high school team that my daughter runs with since she was a baby, so she has grown up around the team and the sport. As a parent, it’s pretty amazing to see her experiencing the friendships and camaraderie that are forged on the run. I guess seeing all of this makes me nostalgic. So the beginning of a cross country season, with the slightest hint of crispness sneaking into the morning air, hinting at the season ahead, is always a special time. It’s not just the running. It’s the hopes and dreams, the friendships and relationships, and all the memories that are organized by competitive seasons in the idiosyncratic filing system of my brain.
This time of year is a transition period on the Minnesota Distance Elite team as well, as we re-set our roster for the upcoming year each Sept. 1. We look back on the past year and set intentions for the year ahead. One of the themes that has returned time and again, whether on this team or others that I have been involved in, is the importance of a supportive and kind environment. Not every team has it. It can be difficult to sustain as we all encounter obstacles and challenges. But if I think about what makes a team great, it has to have that foundation of caring for each other and treating each other with respect and kindness. That sense of belonging imbues experiences with a lasting greatness that transcends competitive results.
If you are a high school or college athlete, I wish you the best of the upcoming season – soak up the experiences! For those who are other places in life, I hope you can find a “team” in your community and life that holds such a special place. I know I feel lucky every day to be a part of this Minnesota Distance Elite team.
Chris Lundstrom is the head coach of Minnesota Distance Elite – formerly Team USA Minnesota – which includes some of the top distance runners in the USA, including Annie Frisbie, Dakotah Lindwurm, Breanna Sieracki and Joel Reichow.
