On Monday, September 19th the cross country team went to the D-dam in Los Banos. It was my first time participating in this run, although the team has gone before several years ago. 

It is a required three mile run for everyone, and others can go further if they want the challenge. The trip is in place of normal practice and is only about twenty minutes longer than the usual practice.

I was a little scared at first, but also anxious. I thought it was going to be very long and super hot, so I consumed all the water I could in the fifteen minute ride. Once we arrived and Coach Barcellos told us it was a three mile run, all my worries were gone and my adrenaline kicked in. Of course I was a little scared of the hills but I took that as a new experience. The only other actual hills we get is the overpass on 152, and that is way different from this run.

When we started running, it felt nice having a new scenery and terrain. I felt like I could actually breath and run free. It was not all stuffy with buildings surrounding me. For the first two miles, it was all hills then you could finally see the water and it is the best view available in Los Banos.

After the run we had an opportunity to go down and back up a super steep hill. Only some did the extra running as the normal run had enough hills. The whole ride back to school was loud and lively. Everyone had something to say and gave a positive vibe out. Overall, the team liked the run and hope to have more runs like this in the future.

These trips are hard to do since Los Banos is so far from forests and other cool running spots. It is always hard to get the money and people to make trips further than running distance away. Our coach makes all the effort forward to make these trips possible though. We are very appreciated for his efforts.