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Robert Steinkraus
Dr. Guenzel
ENC 1101-0114
1 December 2014
Final Revised Draft

Running Through Time

Not many people would agree with this, but I believe it is one of the best feelings in the
world to roll out of bed at six in the morning, toss on some shorts, and just run. It allows me to
escape from reality for anywhere between thirty minutes and a couple of hours. I run to relieve
stress, hang out with friends, stay in shape, compete, adventure, and ultimately experience my
very own type of bliss. Running is a passion of mine.
At the age of four I, just like many other four year olds, was in the Cub Scouts.
Unfortunately, I was not the fondest of being a cub scout, and I wanted to try something new.
This something turned out to be baseball. For the last fifteen years of my life I played baseball. I
even played twice a year for some of those years. The more into baseball I got, the more I
wanted to get better. Through getting better I played catch with my dad daily, and even started
running daily. It was strange I liked running almost as I liked baseball. Although I only ran two
miles a day, I could see myself getting into much better shape. My game play started to increase
due to the fact my legs were stronger, and my cardiovascular was better. I could out run anyone
on the team, and could do so multiple times. Unfortunately, baseball is played in the spring and
summer, and I wanted to find another sport to compete in for fall so I started playing football.
At the age of eight, my friends and I started playing street football in the fall. We would
literally play in my street, and every day after we finished our homework we would get together

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and play a game. These games would last hours, even past dark. After a year or so of street
football, I decided to sign up for the local recreational league. I joined a tackle football team and
excelled quickly. I was already in pretty good shape from running daily, but with the running
workouts throughout practice I got faster day by day. I grew to love running workouts, and even
turned some of my daily runs into workouts. I played quarterback, fullback, linebacker, and
defensive line. I even was in the newspaper at one point for chasing down a running back down
field in the wide open and singlehandedly tackled him. When it came time to sign up for the high
school football team I showed up to the preseason summer practices. I was only 52, but I was
the fastest and most accurate quarter back there. I thought for sure I had it in the bag. When it
came time for tryouts I tried my hardest but my height and weight served as a handicap. The
coach approached me one day and broke the news to me that I was too small, and to come back
out the next year. I was pretty sad because I had given up my opportunity to run cross-country,
and now I was not even playing football. I continued to run on my own, and even started
working out in hopes that I would make the team the next year.
When it came time for summer football tryouts again I did not even bother. I was still
running, and sort of took up my dads idea of joining the cross-country team. Back when he was
in high school he was an all-state runner, and was very good. His 5k was around 14:45, which to
a non-running reader may not mean much. But, running a 14:45 requires at least 4:45 miles
which is insanely difficult to run. He also was very fast at the 800 meter, 1600 meter, and 3200
meter. He only ran three years but set many records, and I aspired to be like him. I wanted to be
just as good, so I joined that summer. I attended nearly a month of practices, and was on the
fence about it. I liked running on my own, but I couldnt really get around to running with the
team every night. Near the end of summer, I got into some trouble and was grounded for a

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ridiculous reason. As a kid I regrettably thought this to myself My dad was so intent on me
joining the team, so maybe if I quit he would understand how ridiculous being grounded was.
So I quit, and frankly it did not faze him. I continued running on my own, and with the new
gained information on the types of practices we ran I intensified my runs. My best friend ended
up running with me daily, and we worked off of each other using the other as an incentive to get
competitively better. I told him about the cross-country team and he pushed me towards it. We
started showing up to the practices, and it was different. I liked it a lot more because I chose to
be there instead of my dad wanting me to. I loved it and now contrary of running on my own
daily, I had a group of friends to run with. I was not varsity my first year, but I definitely was a
workout runner. Although some kids may have been faster than me in 5ks, I could beat them one
hundred percent of the time in work outs. I realized I found something I really loved, running on
a team.
Cross-country ended in November, and conditioning was up to the running friends I made
and myself. We began adding fun to these runs and would adventure run basically anywhere
around town. We ran to the beach, on the beach, in the woods, on the rail road tracks, at parks,
on golf courses, to parking garages, on the back roads, bridges, and basically anywhere we
thought would be fun. We did all of this in preparation of the upcoming track season.
Once January came, track season was about to start and our coach announced that he was
retiring. My friends and I were pretty worried we would not have a coach nearly as good as our
past season cross-country coach, Coach Oneil. But we were all wrong. Our new coach, Jeremy,
was a twenty four year old fresh runner, and he got me into the best shape of my life. He
intensified practices due to speed being the game of track, and the distance we ran also increased.
Jeremy would even run with us and make sure we were performing to the best of our abilities

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each and every rep. That track season was even better than the previous cross-country season. I
realized track was my forte I also realized that I was always sort of a better workout runner.
Running with short goals, breaks between reps; gave me an incentive to go harder each and
every rep. During track I ran the 800 (half-mile), 1600 (mile), and 3200 (two mile). I thought it
was one of the best feelings ever getting up to the starting line, and the anticipation of the
upcoming race. Everyone around you is just as nervous, and that moment when everything gets
quiet before the gun shot. That was the moment I lived for in track, then of course crossing the
finish with a good time. Track was such a great sport and I wish it lasted more than four months.
Coming into the summer before my senior year I had to get serious about running. In the
previous years I always had long hair, and this summer I decided to cut it off due to how absurd
it looked when running, and for less wind-resistance. I started running twice a day, and
Saturdays a few friends and I would get together for a ten-mile bridge loop. The second and
fourth miles were bridges, and the last three were on the beach. At first I dreaded this run, but if
anything this Saturday morning run taught me preservation. Not many people are inclined to
enjoy waking up at six in the morning on your first day off of the weekend, but I came to love it.
I was in the best shape of my life and I was excited for the upcoming cross-country season. It
may not have been track, but the previous track season definitely prepared me for it.
Luckily our track coach was also our cross-country coach. As expected the runs we had
to do were very difficult. Unlike track the distance was longer, and this made it even harder for
me. When we had our first race I established my spot on the varsity team. I was so happy my
hard work and dedication finally paid off. I got to run the overnight meets, stay in hotels, and
even compete in districts and regionals. I was sad when this season ended because our coach
would be going back to grad school so no one really knew who our track coach would be. Post

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season I started to compete in local road races. I established that I did not have to be on a team to
compete. Track finally arrived and we found out who our coach was. It was our captains mom,
and we knew this season would be a joke, and it was. I ran three events throughout the course of
the season, which in the season before I would sometimes run three events in one race! My
friends and I ultimately trained on our own, and put up with the practices she created. They were
all easy and seemed to benefit no one. I regret even joining the track team this past year.
This past summer hit and I did not run as much as I wanted to. It was my summer before
college and I really regret not keeping up with the shape I was in. Of course I ran here and there
with my friends when we went out, but not as much as I was prior. When I got to the University
of Central Florida, I knew I had to find some group of people like my friends back at home, and I
did. I joined the Knights runners club.
Currently I am on the running club at University of Central Florida called the Running
Knights. We ironically run knightly, ranging anywhere from three to ten miles. Of those runs
we have workouts or maintenance days. On top of running with the club, I also enjoy running on
my own and even doing my own workouts. I generally run six or more miles a day. At this
moment I am training for a two-mile race on October 19th. I am not currently in the shape for this
race that I wish to be in right now which is why I am training so hard. On top of training for local
and regional races, I also aspire to complete a full iron-man.
I have always been inspired by the words of Mark Allen, a six-time ironman world
champion, Until you face your fears, you dont move to the other side, where you find the
power. An Iron Man is a triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 110 mile bike ride, and a 26.2
mile marathon all of which must be completed in seventeen hours. The training of this will
ultimately require for me to just keep training daily, and compete in as many races as possible. In

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order to compete in an event such as this I can never take a day off, but I am genuinely okay with
that.
Ultimately, running has influenced me greatly these last couple of years. Running has
become a part of my life, and who I am. Its a way for me to escape from reality, and better
myself mentally and physically. Through I have learned many important things such as time
management, perseverance, team work, persistence, and many other things. I would most
definitely agree that running is a passion of mine.