Nicole Knight
Sports Editor

For the last six months and the first time in 10 years, a vital part of my life has been missing: the presence of a competitive sport. Due to an overload of work and school, I was forced to choose between money and running for the University’s track and field team.

My parents did the whole “your studies come first” thing and my checkbook looked up at me in teary eyes after I put in my two weeks at Nordstrom. Not to mention it is nearly impossible to arrange every class in my major to fit practice times. So, when everything boiled down, track had to go and I was left to train on my own.

However, now as school is coming to an end, I am starting to see what I have missed.

Since the fifth grade, I have participated in a competitive sport at my learning institution. I never said I was good, but I played. Like most athletes I came to a realization in high school and I found my sport: running.

I’ve been called all sorts of crazy for loving this painful sport. But, I showed a glimmer of talent and it kept me in shape so I stuck with it.

Without a doubt, I knew I would run in college. I knew I was not national championship material, but I had the drive and love for the sport.

It’s funny how something I was so sure about, has now become a mere option. Looking back on the absence of competition, I see what I loved and now miss.

After a run, you gain a grand sense of accomplishment. Knowing you can push through the pain and finish a race produces the greater victory in the end.

No sport comes easy. Every athlete must be dedicated to endure the pain.

Now, I sound like I think sports is some kind of torture chamber, when in fact, I do run for its simple pleasures. The old saying, working out makes you feel better, is the reason athletes do what they do.

A competitive sport gives an athlete a drive like nothing else can. The anticipation for the gun to go off or the whistle to blow builds up confidence. Once competition starts nothing else matters but finishing.

Sports take a great amount of determination. The will to never give up builds heart and character.

I have learned these lessons from competition and the fact that they stay with you after your athletic time has retired. And even though I’ve left the track, I find the same determination aiding me in everyday life.

I know I am putting my priorities in line, but I can’t help but feel like I lost an old friend. Competitive sports have been such a large part of my life it seems odd going on without it.

Moving on to the next chapter of my running career will be an interesting ride. As I begin to train on my own, I hope I can maintain the will power to lace up my running shoes each morning. Not having a team to keep you in line is definitely an awkward transition.

I knew I wouldn’t run forever, at least not competitively, I just didn’t think that day would come so soon. Once again, another change thrusting me into the adult world.

As my junior year approaches and I dive head first into my major, I know being a part of the Leopard athletic tradition seems unlikely. At least I know I will remain determined to graduate with the same endurance running has taught me.

Nicole Knight, a sophomore journalism major, is sports editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at stareknight17@charter.net.