I hated every minute of training, but I said, ''Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.''
Muhammad Ali

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King, Jr.



If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
Michael Jordan

0 : Any family member

Low 1 : Male
Mid 1 : Formerly male
High 1 : Identifiable as female only by a qualified medical examination of genitalia

Low 2 : Similiar in proportions to a 160 tonne blue whale
Mid 2 : Uncannily ape-like in appearance, with more hair than your average wooly mammoth
High 2 : Disturbingly masculine in appearance - typically sports short hair -unusually high concentration of these beasts in the German lesbian population

Low 3 : Unfortunate appearance often the result of incestuos indescretions in remote rural areas - Kerry, South Tipperary, parts of Galway and all regions of Roscommon, Leitrim, Offaly and Donegal are the natural habitats of these creatures.
Mid 3 : Most die as spinsters, barring those that are rich, or those that marry the visually impaired.
High 3 : A conquest of notably poor standards - often used as a 'friend' by a female a notch or two up the scale to highlight their comparative 'merits'

Low 4 : Described by all female friends as 'sound' or 'lovely' - enough said
Mid 4 : Will be the cause of many the ribbing for years to come on the unfortunate soul she manages to dupe
High 4 : In the cold sober light of the day, you defnitley wouldn't

Low 5 : Not a good looking girl, but with intensive amounts of make up and grooming can often pass herself off as a mid-high 5 - beware though of what lies beneath
Mid 5 : Your average plain Jane
High 5 : Plain Jane returns, with one large modification below her neck

Low 6 : Will usually have a nice face as her redeeming feature, but inevitably deficient in other areas - there will be no holding of hands down the street
Mid 6 : Formerly a 7 in her youthful prime, but now a few pounds and a few xmas dinners past her best. Should be noted that she still retains the ability to reach 7 material with some work
High 6 : A genuinely good-looking girl, but with one fatal flaw holding her back, the classic example being a rotund rear.

Low 7 : Nice girl, nice work.
Mid 7 : Very nice girl, well a head turner, particularily so when fully attired for an occasion.
High 7 : Fiercely sought after by all and the subject of intense rivalries and attentions.

Low 8 : A well known fact that there is only 1 low 8 per every 5,500 of
female capita
Mid 8 : It is considered fortunate to come across more than 1 mid 8 in person in your average decade.
High 8 : Man eater and heart breaker. Possesses the raw talent to wreak
irreparable psychological damage.

Low 9 : The most famous hot bird that you know falls into this category - authors choice : Adriana Lima
Mid 9 : Possesses the ability to take any man away from his wife, have her divorced, and get him up the aisle without a mention of pre-nuptuals. All with one flutter of eyelids.
High 9 : Whether such a category exists at all is the subject of intense
scholastic debate, given it's proximity to the notional 10.

10 : An imaginary girl, included only for the sake of wholeness. Widely accepted that there is no such thing as the perfect girl.

Note to users : For best results, a girls score should be calculated by
attaining a score from five qualified (male, straight) adjudicators. A final score is then arrived at by discounting her best and worst score and averaging the remaining three.

You know you are a cross country runner when....

...you wake up every morning in pain.
...you have chafing in strange places.
...you own spandex in more than 1 colour.
...track is the other "sport".
..."Chariots of Fire" is actually entertaining to you.
...a 12 mile run is an easy day.
...your watch is more expensive and complicated than your car.
...even your dress shoes have spikes.
...Steve Prefontaine's Birthday is more important than yours.
...you aspire to pain.
...you know as many kinds of pain as eskimos have words for snow.
...you think spandex is a winter's passion statement.
...you can pronounce those funny Kenyan names
...you can hallucinate and get high at the same time without taking anything
…you're proud that another team has quadrupled you're score
...you wear skimpier clothes than Madonna
...you refer to puke as a normal bodily function
...you never look behind you.
...you don't know what an "off-season" means.
...you have stress fractures.
...you find yourself saying, "it's not really a hill..."
...you go to a golf course to run.
...your friends go on the elevator and you beat them on the stairs.
...you finish the race looking like you wrestled a bear and you don't care.
...your temper is shorter that the distance that you ran.
...people say, "You run three miles...at once?"
...your underwear covers more than your uniform shorts.
...the most enjoyable time you've had all month is a day off from practice.
....your shoes have more miles on them than your car does.
...you need a magnifying glass to see your name in the paper.
..the first day of practice you run 5 miles but your coach says you only ran 2.
...you can spit while running.
...you'd rather run to school than drive.
...you combine phrases like "10 mile run" and "Easy Run" in the same breath.
...you can eat your weight in spaghetti.
...your highest heels are your training shoes.
...you debate the advantages of anti-perspirent vs. deoderant.
...if you schedule dates around meets.
...you spend more on training clothes than school clothes.
...your christmas list includes more than one pair of running shoes.
...you've been to a golf course in every city but not to play golf.
...your entire family goes to X-C meets because they have been or will be on the team.
...you feel lost without your water-bottle.
...you have running withdrawl if you don't run everyday.
...the mile in P.E. becomes your warm-up.
...gatorade is your drug of choice.
...your Sundays for the next 4 years are ruined.
...you enjoy running hills.
...you can strip and change in a bus seat in less than 2 minutes.
...people think it's a winter sport.
...when you do bad you get to play longer.
...your favourite food group is carbohydrates.
...your dessert is brussel sprouts.
...you are always hungry.
...your running in your dreams.
...you can sharpen an axe blade on your calves.
...you can maintain a 5:30 pace uphill while throwing up.
...you think track is for wussies.
...you try to impress girls by saying you're a fast finisher.
...you consider school as just a break between runs.
...you always stretch while waiting in the lunch line.
...your feet are comparable to rawhide.
...you're running and you don't know why.
...your friends refer to you as "the masochist".
...you drink more water than Free Willy
...you get pulled over after practice, and can't walk straight because you're so tired
...you laugh at sprinters while they run
...theres nothing like intervals to start the week off fresh!!
...you talk to your coaches more than your parents
...watching the New York Marathon on T.V. made you get up and go for a run
...more than half the people you know don't know what X-C is
...you haven't had a soda in 6 months
...your cookie jar is filled with oat cakes
...you try to pick up a girl by telling him how fast your first mile is
...you can't go a day without some little brat saying run forest run
...some little kid want