A Pair of Short Shorts

I started running around 7th grade. I loved running, I was a member of my middle school Track & Field team and it was great! But, I was also a member of both the Soccer and Volleyball teams, so my mentality was not all running all the time.

Now, my mentality is indeed that. Running, running, running. Cross Country, Winter Track, Spring Track, Summer Training, and repeat. It's the best.

But, how did this mentality begin? I will explain it!

I did not begin Cross Country until I was in 10th grade. It was not an easy decision to stop playing soccer because I had played all of my life. But, I had to make the best decision, and my talents and heart was most definitely with running.

I joined the Cross Country team and it was a whole new world to me. I quickly made friends with the other sophomore runners, but not all of them took it seriously. The core group of runners was the juniors and seniors. I knew I wanted to be one of them. I wanted to make the varsity squad.

I worked hard and did well in my first XC race, which caught the eye of one of my senior captains. He approached me at practice the next day with this simple question: Hey, the varsity guys are placing an order for Soark Running Shorts, would you like a pair? I immediately knew that that was significant. You see, the varsity runners did not run in the team issued shorts, they wore a more comfortable split short.

I felt like it was almost a type of rite of passage. The younger runners always had the mentality that the so called "short shorts" were a disgrace to wear. I thought the opposite, it was a symbol of my maturation as a runner.

From that point on, I was a varsity XC runner for the rest of my high school career. So, yes, I do attribute part of my successes to the purchase of a measly pair of short shorts.