Senior Year

Dear CUW track and cross country team,

It's been a fun ride. Three years of running at Concordia University of Wisconsin and one year of running at UW-Stevens Point. I've made some of the best friends any man could ask for. Through those long runs in sweltering heat and those even longer runs in -15 degree weather, through the blizzards that keep the plows off the roads to the sun that melts the rubber on the bottom of your shoes, those friends have been there. They have been there through the toughest times (and man there were some rough weeks) and they have been there for me in the best of times (and there were plenty of those as well). For me, running has been more than a sport, it has been a lifestyle and those guys, my teammates, have taken every step with me.

Now it is my last season. In fact, conference is coming up this week. Then the last chance meet and maybe, MAYBE...a 10k at nationals. But as excited as I am to get out there and contend for a conference championship with my best friends, I am saddened by the fact that this is the last time I get to compete as a Falcon for Concordia. No more race strategy with the coach, no more nerve racking, vein busting, mind splintering pep talks minutes before the biggest races of our lives. I'll miss those days.

I've grown so much through my teammates. I have learned what it means to be a leader, what it takes to deal with controversey, how to push myself to my limit and then push some more. The days where we get out to the track or the meadow and look at the workout thinking "How the hell are we supposed to do this workout!?"...those days are the best. Those days are the ones that make a strong, close knit team. I'll miss those days.

More than anything this is a thank you to all those runners on the CUW team, men and women, who have impacted my life. It was all for the best. I wouldn't take back one second of it, even the injuries. I've grown more than I could have ever imagined and I hope to keep the friends I've made through the process. I'll still be running and training; I'll still be competing as hard as my body will let me, but I'll always remember how much CUW and the team has impacted me. Thank you, teammates. Thank you very much.

God bless,
Andy Ashenden