“I was meant to join the cross country team but went to the SRLA meeting by accident”

My brother Jesus Sanchez accidentally joined the SRLA team instead of cross country and he feels like running is already a part of him. He thinks the race locations are nice to run around and the discipline from SRLA is important to him. He also said running his first marathon was boring and hard and his second was more fun and he felt more relaxed. 

Transcript:

Betsy Sanchez: I’m interviewing my brother, uhm yeah okay so why did you join running?

Jesus Sanchez: I joined running because it was something I was interested in because many of my friends were doing it but to be honest I really joined it because it was an accident. I was meant to join the cross country team but went to the SRLA  meeting by accident and just..decided to hop on it. 

BS: Okay so uhm…uhm was it hard like at the start of SRLA?

JS: Mm it wasn’t very-  it wasn’t hard to be honest because I tried out in middle school but I didn’t make the team so like I had an idea of like running up to six miles but after six miles it was pretty hard cuz like the…distances were pretty long and just like weather and heat was just very boring and like-  not very boring but it was pretty hard to run in and like w-with each mile I went on it’d just get harder and harder but over time it will get easier honestly just get [inaudible] during every run it will just be fun time and like with music it will just be nice and easy. 

BS: Okay so uhm lo- how many years have you been…

JS: Uhm..

BS: Doing SRLA…

JS: This is my third year doing SRLA. I did it tenth grade and eleventh grade and I’m doing it my…third year for my senior year. 

BS: Okay so uhm…uh what did you think of after I said I was gonna join SRLA?

JS: When you asked me- when you told me you were gonna join SRLA, I was like, “okay cool it’s something you can do up until high school” because..it’s something you COULD do for like about six years so…it’s better than doing like instead of three years what is what I’m doing and doing it for six years yeah… 

BS:  Okay uh..UHH…During your first marathon was it hard?

JS: Mm my first marathon it was hard pretty hard to be honest because…the first miles were pretty easy. I kept a decent pace but towards like mile fifteen and towards the end my legs started hurting and the pain was like very unbearable but to be honest motivation was something that is needed in every runner and like by the end…like..I was in so much pain but I was..like the pain didn’t..like..the pain didn’t exist because I was feeling soo emotional cause I finished the marathon.

BS: Okay so uhm what about your second marathon? How’d you feel about that one?

JS: Mm my second marathon. My second marathon I ran with someone so like it was pretty nice but like…you just have to keep pushing each other, but I got through I got through a decent time and it was nice cause like…it was nice finishing with someone so it felt like pretty good- l- like it wasn’t boring as the first one cause the first one, like alone. I was running alone. It was pretty boring but the second one I was talking with someone the whole time and just chilling with them. 

BS: Okay so uhm yeah what was your motivation for running?

JS: To be honest my motivation for running was basically to get outside more but also like do it in a healthy way since I- I wasn’t doing a lot of sports so I was like I’ll just run since it’s pretty calming and everything cause  running is..like chill because your running at your own pace and the music your playing just keeps you calm and when you like hit that mileage you want to hit it’s just a nice feeling because you feel accomplished after every run.

BS: Mhm okay soo uhm..do you think you would do SRLA or run marathons after high school?

JS: Yeah I think I would because it’s like something that’s already part of me and I feel like..it’s something I want to keep doing, like SRLA or running marathons in general just something that makes me feel nice. Doing races with people…it’s a nice environment to be around and…overall it’s something I do want to continue doing in the future. 

BS: Yeah so uhm yeah the reason I joined SRLA was because of you and yeah uhm. What advice do you have for people who want to join SRLA?

JS: Uhm, some advice I would have for the kids or people who want to join SRLA is basically…its all about commitment but not just about commitment but like discipline, like you gotta stay consistent like even when you don’t wanna run just go on that run cause…

BS: You’re not gonna regret it? 

JS: You’re not regret it, you’re gonna feel good after the run. Your not gonna feel like it but just run cause it’s still gonna improve you. It’s always about discipline because motivation is not always there, so if you can’t perform without motivation then you can’t do much. That’s why discipline is very important, too many runners but especially to me, like that’s something- like- the best advice I can give for students. 

BS: Okay.