by Orrin Konheim

Created on: June 21, 2010   Last Updated: June 23, 2010

On the surface, running sounds less fun than tennis or baseball, but give the track team a chance and you might find running to be one of the most fulfilling experiences you can do outdoors.

Many people think running isn't much of a sport and can be done independently in order to train for a sport that's got more of a point to it other than exhausting yourself.

In response to that, I'd say that running well isn't something that can be done very easily on one's own. If you join a track team, you won't just be running aimlessly but you'll be given goals and teammates and coaching to help you reach those goals. Training for speed is more of an exact science than you might think and it's somewhat difficult to get the same results and satisfaction without someone guiding you. In addition, running brings out an extra gear in you when you're running with other people. Having people to compete against and train alongside allows you to do far more than if you're on your own.

In addition, running or hurdling  to the best of your ability is quite a challenge  in and once you see that, you'll find is quite a fulfilling pursuit. Competing in race atmospheres also provides a variety of challenges and involves quite a bit of strategy as well. If one were to look at the Olympic time trials for the metric mile, you'd notice that no one's running at their PR (PR=personal record, the fastest you've ever ran) and it's all about jockeying for position and expending you're energy in a way that maximizes your advantage over your opponent.

Many people also don't want to join the school track team because they have painful memories of running the mile in P.E. class or from some other time they had to run the mile. In response, I'd have to agree. As someone who loves the sport to death, sometimes I hate the thought of going out there and running. Then again, that's because I'm not always in shape. The key thing to note here is that running when you're not in shape is far more painful than if you're in shape. Don't get me wrong, running is about pushing yourself against your body's comfort zone so there will always be an element of exhaustion if you're doing it right. However, with a consistent amount of running for a period of 2-3 weeks, you'll have a base and a lot of the pain and fatigue will be reduced and you'll be thinking more about how you managed to defy your own expectations and push yourself and the thrill of that

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