Payton came home from school one day, and said that she wanted to join the cross country team. This was so out of the blue, because she doesn't run, she doesn't even like to sweat! But Nate and I were happy that she was interested in something, so we got her shoes, workout clothes, and helped in her fundraising. The practices were at 5 AM!!, so she would get up at 3:45 am to get ready and leave the house at 4:30 to get there in time.
She had such a great time, and made a lot of friends. There were days that she would come home from one of her meets, and be so sore, that I would have to take the rolling pin and roll it along her legs to ease the pain. But she was dedicated, and did great until her foot started to hurt whenever she would run. After several weeks of running in pain, we took her to the doctor, and she was diagnosed with tendonitis. This didn't prevent her from running, it just meant that she would be in extra pain, and need to ice her foot after running.
About 1/2 way through the season, one of the boys on her team was diagnosed with bone cancer in his leg. It was a sad day when he told the team. They all rallied around him, and these shirts were made. On the front it says "No one fights alone" and on the back it says "Team Ryan".
I am so proud of Payton for taking this on. It is a tough sport, and she did it! At the end of season banquet, she got the perseverance award, for showing up and running with her foot hurt. She even said that she wants to do it again next year, and she is going to go out for track in the spring.
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