A Cross Country Team Becoming Cross Continental

By Emilija Krstevska (2022, North Macedonia, placed by Aspect Foundation in Olympia, Washington)

Americans are known for being good sportsmen. They have created basketball, football, baseball, and there are countless of well-known athletes which come from the United States. These athletic principles start from a very young age for Americans, as their schools allow students to be student athletes.

Emilija was placed in Olympia, WA a place which is widely known for its rainy weather and evergreen scenery. This made the location a perfect place to start running, it wasn’t too hot nor too cold and the wooden trails were perfect. Her American school, Olympia High School, is even known for their student Ethan Coleman who is the 4th fastest 2-miler runner in Washington State.

Becoming a part of the Cross Country team allowed Emilija to run together with people who started to push her limits while experiencing an American high school sport. Running became a hobby for Emilija and she found herself doing it daily. This love for athletics made her become a part of the Track & Field team as well, where she ran in the event 3200 meters and the 4x4 relay.

Now Emilija has continued doing the workouts her coach taught her and kept up her running lifestyle. In September of 2022, only 3 months after her return, Emilija competed in a race in her hometown of Bitola called “Trcaj Be” where there was over 1400 contestants.  She ran 10 kilometers a distance double what she has ever ran with her American teams. 

Emilija placed 29th on the race with a time of 1:00:01. Being a part of an American sport had many benefits for her, outside of becoming a good runner, she discovered the importance of discipline and consistence, the payoff of hard work but most importantly became a part of a team where she felt supported, welcomed and accepted.

The day of the race she woke up with countless of messages of her teammates sending her pictures of them holding signs with motivational word and cheering her on even five thousand miles away. She hopes to have the chance to run with them again and greatly appreciates them!