Running Through "The Wall"

Tuesday afternoon, student athletes and academically minded attendees of BMC gathered in front of the cafeteria in a state of anticipation and perspiration; we were there for one purpose: to tackle “The Wall,” enduring the grueling 3.1 miles in order to show Dr. Honea the recognition and support he deserves.

The sun had begun its lazy descent when Dr. Honea stood before the masses, bullhorn in hand. After explaining the daunting details of the course, Honea chuckled, “I named this race course ‘The Wall’ because when a body reaches its lactic threshold it hits a wall. This is that wall.”

With that cheery message, we lined up and headed off, the sound of the start siren ringing in our ears. The first mile was a slow incline, leading us down through the Eunomian gates, following the access road to the Sportsplex. We exited the Blue Motion trail onto campus, winding our way around Fisher Washburn to stand at the foot of the beast — Mountain Street.

We took a deep breath and began plodding up the Mountain, suddenly aware of the wall Dr. Honea was describing. A quote I had once seen on the back of a t-shirt came to mind: “Running is a mental sport, and we’re all insane.” Insane, indeed. Lactic acid coursing through our legs, we placed one foot in front of the other — slowly but surely ascending.

The reality of the runner’s high manifested itself in the euphoric feeling that awaited us at the crest of the hill. We had reached the top.

From that point on, there was a pleasant portion leading through various neighborhood streets of Blue Mountain, eventually leading back to the entrance of the campus and the final uphill battle.

We grit our teeth and pushed every muscle fiber to carry us up the final stretch, having gone too far to quit. Finally we crossed the finish line in front of the caf, having successfully climbed, “The Wall.”

The top finishers for “The Wall” included overall Male Winner Sophomore Braden Hardy along with Overall Female Winner Freshman Aliyah Kline.