Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 90, January 2017 | Page 34

Ma My Story

Life
Lessons
from Cross
Country
Whether you like running or if the only form of running you do is running your mouth, these life lessons I picked up
during my various cross country races may help you too. – BY LIZETTE DU PLESSIS

Nevertheless, I perservered, and today I can look back
on some great running memories and achievements,
as well as some very important life lessons learned
along the way. I would never have imagined that
running cross country would have had such an impact
on my life, and my life has greatly benefited from the
lessons I learned. Maybe a few of my thoughts will
help you as well.
1. Don’t let anyone (including yourself) put
limits on your abilities.
Since I don’t look like a cross country runner, I never
thought that I would be good at it. I like running and
I actively ran in order to be in better shape, but never
felt like I was particularly good at it. When I decided
to run cross country, I did it to stay busy during the
winter. So when I began running competitively and
was pretty decent at it, I was shocked. Who knew the
Hulk could outrun a few Barbies, right?
Lizette, crazy about cross country

Y

ou may be asking yourself what makes
me, an average runner from Rustenburg,
qualified to offer life lessons based on my
shortish cross country running career. I
mean, to be frank, when people look at me, they
would never think, “Oh, I bet she is a cross country
runner!” I played sports throughout high school,
so I was athletic, but I do not fit the average cross
country body type. On the contrary, I have ‘home
run-swinging’ hips, and my thighs… well, one thigh
alone was bigger than most of my teammates’ torsos.
Basically, I felt like the Incredible Hulk running next
to a bunch of Barbie dolls, but instead of a green

34

What shocked me even more was when I found out
that women were telling my husband how proud
they were of me. Lesson? Try something new, even
if think you might fail. Who knows, you might end up
being good at it, and better, loving it. Live a little. Test
your limits. You will be amazed by your unexpected
abilities.
2. Everyone needs a running buddy.
Some days you are just not feeling it. Some days,
even running just four kays simply doesn’t seem like
fun. These are the days when you need your running
buddy to encourage and push you. Sometimes, even
in the middle of a run, your motivation can plummet,
and you need a good running buddy to drag you along
in order for you to not give up entirely.

ISSUE 90 JANUARY 2017 / www.modernathlete.co.za

Life is like that too. Some days you’re just not up to
it, and good people surrounding you will motivate you
to keep going, even when you want to give up. Life
can be hard, but it gets easier if you have a ‘running
buddy.’ So be that kind of buddy for someone else,
and when you need it they will be there for you as
well.
3. Mental toughness is important.
Everyone knows that in sports, mental toughness
is important in order to be successful, and in cross
country it is no different. Surprisingly enough, in cross
country it’s not always the fastest person that crosses
the finish line first, but the one who can endure the
most pain for the longest amount of time. Sometimes
in life you might have to do a similar thing in order to
succeed. You have to keep pushing even when it gets
hard and you want to give up. Learning to be mentally
tough, not just in sports but in your everyday life, will
completely change you. You will be able to accomplish
so much more and your ability to handle setbacks
and disappointments without giving up will increase
dramatically.
4. Don’t let the fear of pain stop you.
Life and running are going to hurt. Sometimes, they
are going to hurt a lot! Now no-one likes to be in pain,
but it is necessary to live through it. If we shrink away
from the pain, we may miss out on some of the richest
experiences in our lives. Pain is momentary, but the
experiences that we will miss if we shy away from pain
will impact our lives. Don’t miss out on life because
you fear the pain associated with it.
5. You need to dig deep and be strong for
others, even when you feel weak.
In cross country, you may not be the one that crosses
the finish line first, but you can still earn points for
your team. When another teammate falls behind, it is

Images: Moegsien Ebrahim & Courtesy Lizette du Plessis

complexion like the Hulk, I was normally red in the
face.