Don't Stop Believing

Wow. In a few days I'll be graduating from college. Goodbye CUW. Goodbye Buuck Fieldhouse, goodbye bluff, goodbye fish bowl.


Goodbye, team.


I know I haven't posted to this blog in months, and I was thinking about letting it die with the XC conference championship as our closing statement, but after reading Andy's most recent post I just had to sign off one more time.


I came to Concordia as a very confused 18-year-old, not really knowing who I was or where I was going in life. Running has always been a release for me, one of my favorite ways of unwinding and just forgetting about everything except the wind in my hair and the sound of my feet striking the ground. It's kept me sane. And so it was natural that I'd look for others to share that joy with me, which is why I wound up joining the team in spring 2008. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.


I've gone through a lot of ups and downs over the last four years, a lot of questioning and soul-searching, a lot of pain and punishment. Yet amidst all the confusion and chaos, there was always one thing I could count on to make sense. That was the team. The times we've shared will be one of the warmest spots in my memories of college: carving pumpkins at Andy's, running in the minus 30 windchills in the dark while wearing ski goggles, cutting through the clouds of flies every spring, running stairs on the bluff at 6 am, in the dark, in the rain, while Russ is shouting "Yeah baby!"...those were great, great times.


I know indoor track didn't go so great for me this year, and I ended up deciding not to run outdoor, but I hope you're all aware that this decision had nothing to do with any of you. You were the reason I almost didn't quit. You guys and girls, coaches and trainers, all of you...for four years you've been my home away from home, my second family, my fallback and support group. You've been there for me when I needed it most, helping me survive the nightmares of my own mind when you didn't even realize it.


When I was still new on the team there were some T-shirts floating around, perhaps from the year before, that said "In search of the miraculous." I believe that was the team's slogan for that season. Personally, I don't know what you guys were searching for, because it was all around you the entire time. This team is miraculous. I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of training companions and friends.


So this is me saying goodbye, so long, and thanks for all the miles. I'm sure I'll see some of you, hopefully all of you, again at some point, but until then keep on running. Because the Spirit's fire never goes out, and the monster never dies. And once again, thank you for being my team.


You never stopped believing in me. I'll never stop believing in you.




Peace.
Lucas