Hey everyone:

My name is Courtney Clayton and I’m currently a senior at Hononegah High school in Rockton, Illinois. I can’t believe that it’s already my final year of high school and in less than 6 months I’ll be off at college! It’s so crazy to think about, it doesn’t even seem real!

A time of reflection– My freshman year…

It was the night before the first day of track practice and I was so nervous that I asked my mom “mom… what if I forgot how to run?” she laughed and told me that I would be totally fine and there is no way that could happen!

Well now I’m a senior. I’m older, wiser , and more hungry for victory then ever ! As I look back on my high school track experience I realize the question I posed to my mom was misplaced. Participating in track (or any sport) brings with it a lot of things….

Fun Times-

There are so many great memories I have with my team. One of my favorites was at our annual ugly sweater Christmas party last year. My teammates Sarah and Mallory decided to chug a GALLON of milk and see who could drink the most. Sarah won with drinking more than half of it! I don’t understand how somebody could drink that much milk in about 20 minutes time, but it was pretty hilarious. Track is about friendship and fun!

Going down state, by far, has always been the highlight of my year. I will never forget when Mandy Coleman (a teammate on the 4x4 relay) ran in the prelims in shorts she mistakenly put on backwards. It was so funny… she didn’t even notice until she got onto the track but by then there was no time to change! In the end she ran one of her fastest times that year and we all got a great laugh.

Whether we were on our way to a meet or feeling like we were about to die in practice, we were always making fun memories with each other. I can truly say we are all family! Reflecting on these experiences makes me realize that this is the last year I will be a Hononegah Indian.

The Exciting Times–

I specialize in the middle distance events and also run on the cross country team (Jr. & Sr. year). At first, I wasn’t fond of long distance at all as for the first 5 years of my track career I was a sprinter. I have to say the idea of running 7 miles for a practice sounded pretty crazy to me. But people I trusted told me that running cross country would help my 800m times. So, I decided to do it!

For those who don’t know, my sophomore year I was second at state in the 800m with a time of 2:12. With a year of cross country and harder training I was able to bring home the gold dropping my time to a 2:08. Building my endurance was a major part to this achievement!

This year Cross country also went very well! Everyone’s times were dropping so fast, I can’t wait to see how the cross season positively affects our 2013 track season! It will be awesome.

- Ending My Senior Year with a Bang!-

I’ve had about a full week of track practice so far this season and I’m amped up to find out how it will all turn out. My teammates and I did a pretty hard hill workout this last Friday (3 sets of 5) uphill sprints and everyone looks pretty awesome for being so early in the season. My coaches have come up with a new training schedule for me this year; it’s going to be pretty tough but I know that in the end it will all pay off!

My first meet will be at home on February 13^thI’m pretty excited! Many of the Hononegah girls, including myself, are looking to break some serious records this year. For me it includes attempting to break the Illinois State 800m record (2:07.4) held by Shelly McBride. As long as everyone can stay healthy, train hard and maintain a competitive attitude I bet that Hononegah will have a ton of girls qualifying down state this year. I feel that the beginning and middle of the season are so important and if you can give everything you have in those practices your end of season goals will come much easier.

So, here’s to running hard and having fun!… I hope everyone’s season has a great start and I look forward to letting you all know how the next couple weeks go.

“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation.” – Robert H. Schuller

Best of luck! ~Co