Everyone has something they are passionate about, something they enjoy doing in their free time. For some, it\u2019s sports, for others, it\u2019s art, but for senior Nate Rousseau, it\u2019s long-distance running. While Rousseau has only been running for a little over a year, it has quickly become something he enjoys greatly. During his time running, he has raced in a half-marathon and a full marathon, and he has plans for more.
\nRousseau began running at the beginning of his junior year. \u201cMy dad just asked if I wanted to go run three miles, and it was the most challenging thing ever,\u201d said Rousseau. \u201cBut I kept running into October and November. And then in November of that year, I ran a half marathon, which is 13 miles.\u201d
\nDuring this time, Rousseau was working out with the physical fitness team. He wasn\u2019t on the team, but he worked out with them to help keep in shape. \u201cThen I set the goal that in March I would run the marathon,\u201d said Rousseau. \u201cI trained all through the winter, and it was so cold. I remember one of my hardest runs was on a Thursday. I was going out of town that weekend, but I was on a strict training program, so I had to run 20 miles before school. I got up at 3:30 in the morning and ran.\u201d
\nFor Rousseau, those runs were more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge. \u201cMy legs were strong enough to hold up, but it was harder on my mind,\u201d he said. \u201cI just wasn\u2019t going to quit at all.\u201d
\nThis mental aspect of running came into play during the Little Rock Marathon, which Rousseau ran this past March. \u201cAt mile 18, I cramped up,\u201d he said. \u201cMy quads cramped and eventually my hamstrings cramped, and I had eight more miles to go. I was literally wobbling. My dad walked with me for eight miles while I hobbled to the finish line.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s the mental challenge that Rousseau enjoys. \u201cIf you can run three miles, you can run six,\u201d said Rousseau. \u201cIf you can run six, you can run 10. It\u2019s just the thought of not knowing if you can do it or not. And then you do it, and you feel so accomplished. I will run an ultramarathon, which is 100 miles, in a couple of years.\u201d
\nRousseau didn\u2019t have any training partners for the marathon, but he found that to be helpful. \u201cThere are these groups that run and train together for marathons, but I found that I can do it by myself,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was one Friday night where I started at seven o\u2019clock at night, and it was like 30 degrees, and I ran 18 miles by myself. You can get in your mind when you\u2019re running a really long distance. You can just think about stuff, and you forget you\u2019re running.\u201d
\nRousseau is not the only one to enjoy running. Athletic director Mr. Tim Ezzi used to run a lot, both as a sport and recreationally. \u201cIn high school, we were required to run track,\u201d said Mr. Ezzi. \u201cAll athletes had to run track in the spring. Basketball guys like myself and football guys, we all had to run distance.\u201d
\nAfter high school, Mr. Ezzi shifted from running competitively to running for fun. \u201cI didn\u2019t do any races or anything, I just did it because I enjoyed it,\u201d he said. \u201cI would get the old runner\u2019s high. Distance just depended on how much time I had, it could be three miles or ten miles.\u201d
\nRousseau has seen multiple benefits in embracing the challenge of running marathons. \u201cYou gain confidence in having achievements like that,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s changed my mindset completely. I\u2019m a lot more productive.
\n\u201cOn the first day of school, you know, everyone\u2019s nervous to come to school,\u201d said Rousseau. \u201cI ran five miles before school, and I felt great after that. It\u2019s kind of therapeutic as well. It organizes your life so much. Winning in the morning is the best thing ever. Running helps win the morning, and if you win in the morning, you\u2019ll feel so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone has something they are passionate about, something they enjoy doing in their free time. For some, it\u2019s sports, for others, it\u2019s art, but for senior Nate Rousseau, it\u2019s long-distance running. While Rousseau has only been running for a little over a year, it has quickly become something he enjoys greatly. During his time running,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":9519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[215,196],"tags":[143],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/liftoffnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/4CE3617C-DC1A-4F3B-B91D-BF8A4BBBEC89-e1673328112176.jpeg?fit=3024%2C4032&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xfZw-2tu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9516"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9516"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9518,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9516\/revisions\/9518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}