Running With Nicole Lee

Nicole Lee is a 13 year old seventh grader at Sunridge Middle school. She was born in Elko, Nevada, but she moved and grew up in Irrigon, Oregon, and is now living here, in Pendleton, Oregon. Even though she is in seventh grade, most think seventh graders are immature, but she is very mature for her age. She is independent and likes to do things for herself. She enjoys many things including: Basketball, Track, and Cross Country. She likes running long distance which is why she enjoys doing cross country and long distance track events.

Nicole Lee

Her interest in cross country started from track in sixth grade. She did long distance events in track which made her become interested in long distance running. Because track season isn't until the spring it was towards the end of the year so she didn't know about her interest until then and wanted to try something new so she decided to go out for cross country the following fall at the begin of seventh grade. Throughout the season she loved the sport and became attracted. She enjoyed it because she liked competing at the meets, experiencing the different types of courses, and going to different towns. Although the meets were fun, she had to face some challenges during the race. She told me that you have to face the challenges of not getting overwhelmed, trying not to stop no matter how hard it may be, and to push yourself throughout the whole race. During her race she focuses on the people in front of her and tries to stay with them the whole time. She also focuses a lot on her breathing, as well as how many more miles she has to run.
She really enjoys cross country but only plans on doing it for the rest of middle school. It may be challenging but she believes anyone could do it if they tried. She believes that all you have to have is mental strength and to push and challenge yourself if you wanted to do this sport. Nicole is glad she found her interest in long distance running and wants to enjoy her next and final year of cross country as best as she can. As a long distance runner myself, I learned a lot of different things from her point of view. We find many things the same, even though there are a few differences. I really enjoy interviewing people that participate in the same sports as me because I can see what they think of it, and just what they like about it compared to my point of view of the sport.