Clay County Lady Bulldogs freshman Isabella Smith began her running career this season.
Smith tried out for the cross country team this summer. Smith competed in multiple other sports in middle school and elementary prior to joining cross country. Smith said while she believes she finished well, she felt a little different going into her first meet.
“In a meet it’s [completely] different,” Smith said. “In a meet, you have more than one [person] cheering you on from different teams. It’s just an awesome feeling.”
Smith has competed in two meets since making the team. Smith competed in a three-mile run which qualified her for the team. Smith said she felt nervous going into the tryout because of who she was competing against.
“I was nervous to see how everybody was doing and trying something new and being around everybody.” Smith said.
Smith said she challenges herself mentally to keep running.
“If you want to go slower, your body wants to stop, but you can’t,” Smith said. “You have to keep moving. You just want to stop and just quit but you can’t. You have to push yourself.”
Smith said she hopes for a three-mile run of 24 minutes this season. Smith ran her first meet in August, finishing her first mile out of three at a time of seven minutes and 21 seconds.