Sag: Why do you choose to run?

Brown: It’s a good way to release stress because you just get everything out of you, and you just try to go as fast as you can. It taught me how to deal with stress and how to stay determined and reach for goals and achieve them. You meet a lot of new people, and you become really close to them because they are your team. You just support each other, and you are there for each other.

Sag: What do you think you gain from being part of the team?

Brown: You have to support each other so you can all do well and achieve whatever time you are trying to get or to beat the other team. Or in relays, you have to work together to make sure you have your hand-offs and that you are all running together. And you meet the teammates [during track] but you hang out outside of school, too, and you just become really close. It stays all throughout high school. And not just only in your grade but other grades too, so it’s really good for connecting with other grades that you may not have met if you hadn’t done it.

Sag: How do you deal with defeat?

Brown: I’d say you just keep moving forward. There is going to be another race, and you’ll just have to work harder next time to beat that time or that person you didn’t beat before. It can be hard to overcome defeat sometimes, but you just have to keep pushing on. What I do to deal with defeat is think about how much harder I’m going to push myself in practice, and this motivation to do better keeps me going until the next meet.

Sag: What has running given you to help you in life?

Brown: I’d say running has taught me to stick with something even when it gets challenging or tough because some good will come of it. Running is about achieving personal goals more than other things. So you have a certain place you want to be and then you just work toward that spot. If you don’t pick yourself up and keep going, you won’t improve.

Sarah Gladstone can be contacted at [email protected].