Blog #4: Embracing the Challenges

By Brenna Cohoon

The past several days have been nothing short of chaotic.  The spread of COVID-19 has completely shifted everyone’s lives.  Although I’ve gone through a rollercoaster of emotions in the last week, I’ve settled on the belief that for student-athletes especially, this is just a setback that will teach us how to deal with adversity.

On Monday, I was proud of my team’s performance at Mustang Relays, excited to see the foundation we were continuing to build for the rest of the season.  Tuesday proceeded in a fairly normal fashion.

On Wednesday, I began questioning whether or not I would be able to race over the weekend.  Nothing was released stating otherwise, but I was definitely starting to get a little concerned as the conversation around COVID-19 in our state increased.

On Thursday, I began questioning whether or not I would be able to race again for the rest of the season.  Professional sports leagues were postponing their seasons and the NCAA cancelled all sports championships for the remainder of the academic year.  Batavia Distance Madness was cancelled, leaving me devastated.

On Friday, I exchanged looks of uneasiness with my classmates all throughout the morning. We had a feeling that things were going to continue to change.  A couple of hours later, the Proviso East Invite was cancelled.  A few hours after that, we received the news that our school district will not resume regular classes until April 6.  All sports practices were cancelled, as was the rest of the indoor track season.

Last week was difficult to manage emotionally, to say the least.  I became increasingly more concerned about the virus itself, hoping that my loved ones would remain healthy.  I wished that there was something I could do to help the people suffering from this illness.  I felt awful for the collegiate athletes who suffered incredible disappointment after hearing the unfortunate news about their seasons.  I was upset about my own meets getting cancelled.  I was scared that the rest of my senior track season would come to a screeching halt.

This is where the part about dealing with adversity comes in.  As people are asked to practice social distancing, student-athletes are required to train on their own or with just a couple of other teammates.  Runners continue to pound the pavement as they practice with complete uncertainty, wondering what will become of the remainder of the season.

Powering through this lack of control while maintaining a positive attitude is being resilient in the face of adversity.  My coaches constantly preach that as runners, we must be prepared to stay strong when being faced with adversity.  If your race plan is not unfolding as expected, you need to be wise in the moment and simply fight back.

Dealing with the mental and emotional effects of the coronavirus is a way to handle adversity outside of running and in regard to life, in general.  Although there has never truly been a moment like this before now, it will only prepare us for the challenges that we will face down the road.  As adults, jobs might be difficult to find, and relationships might be hard to maintain.  Since we have to push through the negative effects of the coronavirus now, we’ll have learned that anything good is worth fighting for.

Whether the next time I toe the line will be for Downers Grove South or Iowa State, I know that I will emerge stronger from this time of chaos and uncertainty.  I truly trust that everything happens for a reason.  Some of my teammates have asked how I’m dealing with everything as a senior, but honestly, it’s only giving me more motivation for the future.

The moral of the story: every day is a blessing, so be grateful for what you have.  I’ve had to learn the hard way to not take anything for granted.  I simply assumed that I could cruise through my last high school season without anything holding me back. 

I set huge goals for this year that I might not get the chance to even try achieving.  There is still hope, so I must keep my head held high and continue working hard while nobody is watching.  After all, the tough moments like these make the good ones so much sweeter.

Photo Credit: © 2020 Laura Duffy