Hey
everyone. My name is Lina May. I was a distance runner at Vancleave High School,
but now I am a sophomore on the USM Track and Cross-Country teams.
The last couple days, I'm sure any other college track athlete would agree, have been insane. In the matter of 24 hours my teammates and I went from being excited about rolling into outdoor season and aiming at regional qualifying times to being told that we are done competing for the year. We don't really know what the rest of this year is going to look like. Now the University has switched to only online classes. I think many of us will stay in Hattiesburg to keep running together but some are going home for a while. It's crazy that this is not only happening to our team but every college and professional athlete in the world. We were all ecstatic about this upcoming spring and never saw this coming.
We had just finished up the CUSA Indoor Conference Meet and many of us ran the best races of our lives. More than anything I'm hurting for our seniors on the team. Some of them are coming back next year because of red shirt seasons, but a lot of them don't have that option. It breaks my heart knowing they just had their last track season ripped away from them so suddenly. We had no clue that our last indoor meet would be our last time to race with each other. The seniors didn't get that last opportunity to run their guts out for each other, knowing once you cross that finish line you are done. That's it. Your time competing is over.
One thing I've really seen in the past 24 hours is how much running really means to all of us. Not just for the sport, but also, how much we all care about each other. It's more than just a sport. It's our life style and most of us have been competing since middle school. Our team is our family. They are my brothers and sisters. We have seen each other's highest and lowest moments. We literally put our blood, sweat, and tears into it. We work out before the sun is even up. We work through painful injuries. We pick each other up and encourage one another. We don't just run together, we do life together. I think all of us can agree that this past semester we have gotten closer than ever. I think with our team being mostly seniors we knew that things were coming to an end, so we made it a point to enjoy each other's company every day. We just didn't know it would be this soon.
I know God put me exactly where I needed to be when He brought me to Southern Miss. I cannot imagine a more amazing group of people to be surrounded by. I am so beyond grateful for every single boy, girl, and Coach on my team. Thank you guys for everything. Thank you for the long van rides, the endless cups of coffee, the Halloween dance parties, the laughter, for picking me up when I fall down on the trails, roasting each other way too hard, for every obnoxious eagle screech, and our many adventures.
I think if I learned anything from this is that you never know what is going to happen tomorrow. Find joy every day and be present in the moment. Take the time to be silly with your teammates and your coach. Encourage the people around you because you don't know how much time you have left with them. Soak up every good moment you can. And run every race like it's your last.
Lina May, Vancleave High and Southern Miss.
