By Arjun Deckha

I was on the starting line of the most important race of my life. I could hear the breathing of 150 other boys my age. I thought to myself, what are the other boys thinking to themselves? All of a sudden, I heard the sound of a gun; instinctively, I was running at nearly my top speed. It was important to start the race off well, as after a certain period of time, not much movement occurs between runners’ placements. Where I finished that day would have an impact on what I would be doing for the rest of the month of October. Would my cross-country season be over, or would I be training my heart out?

Throughout my relatively short time at RSGC, my most memorable achievement was going to the Ontario Cross Country Championships at the OFSAA event in Sudbury, in November, 2019. This event was a very significant part of my life, as it was the first time that I earned my way to a serious sports championship. Although it is uncomfortable, running is the sport that I excel in the most. In the past, prior to my admission to RSGC in Grade 9, I was often criticized for my perceived lack of athleticism. At my previous school, I was mocked for my lack of abilities in sports like soccer, ultimate frisbee, and basketball, until I began running seriously. After many long exhausting runs, I improved so much as a runner that I became one of the top 8 male runners in my grade. This feat had seemed possible, but it required hours of practice and dedication. Qualifying for OFSAA a year later made all this effort from past years seem worth it.

At the OFSAA cross-country championships, there are runners from all over Ontario. The runners are divided by the districts that they are from. RSGC competes at the CISAA conference championships to qualify for OFSAA. In a way, the CISAA event is more significant and competitive than OFSAA, as there is something to look forward to afterwards.

As I lined up on the starting line, I realized how many other boys were competing for 15 spots in OFSAA. Only about one out of every 10 would get the glory of going to the final race. Aware that RSGC was one of the more competitive teams in the race, I could hear blood, full of adrenaline, pumping faster than ever through my body. When I heard the sound of the gun, along with 150 other boys, I headed off into the race of a lifetime–a race that could determine whether I would be disappointed for the majority of the remaining year, and a race that could send me to my first major competition. As I ran, I could feel the studs of my shoe battling with the moist ground. Moreover, I could hear the grunts and footsteps of many other athletes, and I realized that many of the boys had slightly misjudged the distance of the race; it was 4 km long. The run flew by in a flash; however, it was fairly exhausting. I realized that I had done what was expected of me, to finish top 25; I had finished 23rd! Unsurprisingly, I was the fifth runner who had crossed the finish line from RSGC, close behind the third and fourth place runners from our school. At this stage, however, we were unsure whether we had qualified for the OFSAA championships and were very skeptical about the idea itself. Approximately 30 minutes after our race, the results were posted; I had displaced a runner from the third place team, which meant that we qualified. This was easily one of my happiest moments as an athlete, as I felt a sense of victory; I was going to OFSAA!

The sense of accomplishment I felt on the bus back with my teammates was possibly the most significant that I have ever experienced. Because we were grade 9s, even older boys and teachers were impressed; however, this glory was to be extinguished very soon. The top five grade 9 runners from RSGC, a grade 11 student, and another fellow grade 9 student running in the para-athlete category had their work cut out for them; this included me. To impress and showcase that RSGC had competitive runners, our grade 9 team made a goal to finish in the top 10 cross-country teams from across the province. This proved to be very challenging. To prepare for this daunting task, we had what is known as the “OFSAA” practice–probably the most relaxing yet intense run that I have ever had. Along with the rest of my teammates headed to OFSAA, I took a taxi to a beautiful park in the heart of Toronto. The park stretched for kilometers, with many hills, perfect for a long and intense running workout. The smell of the fresh autumnal air and the sounds of birds chirping made the workout peaceful and enjoyable. Ultimately, this practice prepared me for the intensity and atmosphere at OFSAA.

As I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock the day before the race, I was excited for the adventure awaiting me. All of a sudden, I realized that I still had over a day until the actual race, and that I would be taking a long bus ride up to Sudbury, where the OFSAA cross-country championships were being held. Unfortunately, to actually get to Sudbury at a reasonable time, we had to leave at 8 am sharp. The bus ride there is one that I will never forget. About three hours into our bus ride, our bus stopped for a snack. We stopped at a Tim Hortons in the middle of nowhere, where we saw a large truck flipped over in the snow. A very frightening sight to say the least, I almost perceived it as a foreshadowing of my fate in the race. Thankfully, Sudbury didn’t seem too far away, and we arrived there in a little less than two hours. It was intimidating getting off the bus to see the sheer number of other runners. Although the race wasn’t that day, our team went to view the course. Prior to leaving, I had seen a video of it; however, that day it was full of snow, nearly unrecognizable. This gave me a sense of uncertainty, a feeling that often makes me worried. On top of that, the weather was very cold, and there were a few inches of snow; I had never actually run in snow before. Perhaps it had been a good idea to buy 9mm spikes for my shoes a few days prior. After viewing the course, I felt relieved, and was prepared for the most important day of my life.

When I awoke the next morning, I felt queasy. I was in Sudbury, a place that I had never been before. How could the most important day of my life be so far from home? I realized that I had to collect myself, eat a good breakfast, and get ready to run my race. My race was at 11:15 am, just after thegGrade 9 girls’ race which gave me a sense of reassurance; at least I could see what a race in these conditions looked like before it was my turn.

The bus ride to the site of the race was unsettling. The location of the race wasn’t located too far away; however, we had to park in a parking lot about a kilometre away due to the thousands of people at the event. As we walked over to the course, I peered over the barrier to see what was happening with the girls’ race. When the race commenced, crowds of girls began running very quickly, slightly taking me by surprise. Could I seriously run that fast? In no time, the girls’ race finished and I, along with the rest of my teammates, began warming up. It was one degree outside, and I was wearing a sleeveless shirt with racing shoes and shorts–that’s it! Weirdly, I didn’t feel that cold. All of a sudden, grade 9 boys were called down to the course to be organized for the race. A chill passed down my spine. I was 10 minutes away from running the race of a lifetime. The boys were organized by order of position at previous qualification events. As the slowest in the CISAA race from RSGC, I was positioned at the back. As I began to prepare myself for the race, I peered around at others. Some appeared fierce, some weak, others just like me–scared, but prepared. I was about to run 4 km, the scariest and best 4 km of my life.

Bang!!! The race had begun, a large swarm of boys, myself included, began running at nearly top speed into the woods where the rest of the course continued. As I ran, I could hear the breathing of 200 other boys all at different speeds and ranges. Some were large deep breaths, others were gasps, and I wondered what kind of breathing was most appropriate? As the race progressed, positions between runners began to solidify; it became difficult to pass anyone and advance in one’s standing. Unusually, I was more focused on keeping my position rather than moving forward. This was a very defensive way to run such a race; however, I began to get tired, and by the 2 km mark, I was breathing heavily. When my breathing is like this, I realize that I have overexerted myself to an extent and that if I wish to push myself any further, I will likely develop a cramp in my abdomen–a death wish in-disguise. All of a sudden, as I headed around a turn, I saw a fellow Georgian. He was about 100m ahead of me; however, this accounted for about 60 places. Although our eyes didn’t meet, I felt a sense of connection to him, something that I had never felt before. This was because I had never been part of a real team before. It motivated me, and I began to accelerate for about 10 metres. I passed about eight other boys, putting me in a slightly favourable position, considering my ranking at previous events. As the race came closer to an end, a coach from the other team from CISAA, the St. Mike’s cross-country coach, cheered me on. He even knew my name! How was that possible? I had barely seen the man before. This made me feel a sense of importance and belonging; I was being recognized like never before.

The race finished shortly after, and I didn’t really care where I finished. What mattered was the realization that I had made. Running was where I belonged. No matter how much I hated the feeling of it, it was a part of me. After the race, my father and younger sister came to watch me run; unfortunately, my dad miscalculated how many people would be at the race and had a tough time getting to the race. He arrived 10-15 minutes after my race to congratulate me. This didn’t really matter to me. The only thing that was going through my head was, all that hard work in years prior had finally paid off; I belonged for real somewhere.