In 2018-19, the Mountain East Conference began its "Dear Sport" initiative where student-athletes in the conference were encouraged to write a letter to their sport. The initiative provides the opportunity for student-athletes to express in their own words the impact that sports has played in shaping them throughout their lives.
Click here to view all letters posted throughout the year.
Below is a letter from Bailey Knowles a senior cross country runner at Concord University.
Dear Cross Country,
I first want to say that after 10 years of running I fall more and more in love with this sport every year and writing to you now as a senior in college and saying this with everything in me, I’m going to miss you more than anything.
Some of the first memories I have of you was in fourth grade when I attended my first cross country meet. The only two things I remember about that experience were runners passing out and collapsing at the finish. After the races I ran up a steep hill that was on the course and said to my mom: “They have to run up this? It’s so steep!” And yet after that experience, something still caught my interest with this sport.
I'll remember Christiansburg’s assistant cross country coach buying me one of the meet t-shirts and it immediately becoming my favorite shirt that I’d wear to school all the time and even sleep in it. I’ll remember before I could join the cross country team running public 5K’s with my mom. I was super nervous at the start but somehow having her right there with me calmed me. I’ll remember telling her at some point in the race that I was going to run ahead and she’d then wish me good luck and tell me she’d see me at the finish. I’ll remember going to my high school cross country team’s summer training runs every summer on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday where we’d meet at 7 a.m. to get our run in. I’ll remember thinking Kenna and I shouldn’t be here because we were only in 7th grade and being mad at my mom and dad for making us go. Later on however, I’ll thank them for doing that.
I’ll remember my first varsity race in high school and how nervous I was for it but little did I know that it was just the beginning and I was realizing what this sport was all about. I’ll remember the breakthrough races I had in high school and that feeling of thinking I was unstoppable. I’ll remember going to cross country camps with my high school team and the great memories and information I learned during those weeks in which I completely soaked it all in. I’ll remember the many great runners I ran against and the special relationships I formed with some of them through competing against each other every weekend. I’ll them cherish forever even as I moved into collegiate running.
I’ll remember Kenna and I choosing which college we wanted to run for separately but both ending up choosing Concord University and it turning out to be one of the best decisions we’ll ever make in our life. In choosing to run at Concord, you gave me Coach Cox, one of the best coaches on the planet, and for that reason alone I can never thank you enough. I’ll remember the workouts in college where I felt strong and invincible with the weather was perfect and everything was going right. And I’ll remember the workouts when my legs felt heavy, I was exhausted and when I needed my teammates to help me get through. I’ll remember all the tears, heartbreak, frustration and sadness that you have caused me due to injuries, bad races, bad workouts, and tough times… but I’ll also remember the people you gave me to help me get through those rough patches.
I’ll remember the runners you put on my team who aren’t only my teammates but after four long years of competing together feel more like family to me. I’ll forever be grateful for these people you put in my life who have picked me up when times were bad and celebrated the times that were great. You showed me I am capable of a lot more than I think I am. You proved that one of the most important things in this sport is to have faith in God, in your training, in your coach, in your teammates and most importantly in yourself. You’ve given me so many memories and things to be thankful for. You’ve done everything I could’ve ever asked for. Here’s to the many years ahead, hoping I can give back to you as much as you gave to me.
Love,
Bailey