As a reasonably fast seventh grader, an Under Armour-clad Rylee Sharp was expected to finish with the reasonably fast on the wet morning of her first cross country meet.  Lanky girls that were all poised tensely at the starting line sprinted out at the pop of the gun announcing the beginning of the race.  “Supposedly I was pretty fast; I didn’t know, I was like, ‘Whatever, I’m just running,’” Sharp said.  Nevertheless, a pair of gray and yellow tennis shoes steadily climbed their way out of the reasonably fast to first place.

            For the past two years, excluding a stress fracture last autumn that only allowed her to run a partial season, Sharp has been active in running long distance track and cross country.  As a freshman, Sharp is running on the varsity cross country team.  She has recorded a personal best two-mile time of 12:24, while the average Junior Varsity time is 16 minutes, more or less. Despite this statistic, Sharp said she’s still challenged by her competition, the Hereford and Canyon teams.

             “I have a lot of pressure to get good times,” Sharp said.  “Since Tobie Browder and Rachel Lusk are still competition for me here [at Randall].”

Sharp said she considers her mom, who also ran competitively, to be the role model that keeps her motivated, while her friends and the rest of her family put a lot of support toward her running as well. 

“Before every race my mom always says to run like I stole something,” Sharp said.  “It really puts it into perspective how fast I should run.”

            The cross country team typically runs 27 miles a week, including meets.  They begin training on mid-summer mornings in neighborhoods like Gene Howe and Arden Road and at Wildcat Bluff.  For Sharp, the cold, early morning runs are the best.

            “I’m delirious from lack of sleep and I can’t feel anything,” Sharp said.  “That makes it easier [to complete the run].”

            With the possibility of injury, along with the minor muscle pains that like to come along for the run, and Amarillo’s dry, summer heat, Sharp said that it’s sometimes hard to keep running.

            “I always tell myself that it’ll be over soon;” Sharp said.  “That it won’t last forever.”

            And then there’s the issue of what to think about while running for five miles straight.

            “Usually [I have] random thoughts,” Sharp said.  “Like what happened that day.”

            For Sharp, the best part about being on the cross country team is the friendships that she has made with the people she runs with.

            “I also like knowing that I’m doing something for myself,” Sharp said.  “And that I’m not just being lazy.”

            Sharp said that running does involve some sacrifices.

            “I have to go to bed early on Friday nights [to rest for the meet],” Sharp said.  “Which cuts into my social life,” Sharp said.

            In order to meet her cross country goals for the rest of the year, Sharp said that she’s been working hard.

            “[I’d like to] beat my best time,” Sharp said.  “And possibly go to state.”

            Rylee said she has found cross country most rewarding in the area of work ethic.

“I want running to take me to college,” Sharp said. “So we’ll see how it goes.”