Rainy Running

One of the worst ways to start off a meet day is checking the weather and seeing rain, rain, and more rain (with some wind too). On our first outdoor track meet of this year, we were greeted with unpleasant conditions. Since it's still early April, this type of weather is somewhat expected, but the lack of surprise doesn’t diminish its effects.

Thankfully, compared to other possible weather conditions, our weather wasn’t too bad on Wednesday. However, many pro athletes have endured through severe conditions with dedication to their sport.

Both of the two recent Winter Olympics have had periods of extreme weather. In the 2018 Olympics Pyeongchang, South Korea winds of up to 40 mph disrupted events, causing athletes being twisted by the wind while in the air in a jump.

In the winter Olympics before, athletes encountered the opposite type of harshness. Instead of the normal cold weather, no moment of the 2014 Winter Olympics was below freezing but actually reached a high temperature of 68 degrees. Although this doesn't seem to affect the games too much, the courses had to be recovered with 80% man-made snow and some athletes ended up stuffing snow in their suits to endure through the heat.

I’ve thankfully never had to stuff snow in my clothes, and I hopefully never have to. By contrasting my track meet with these winter Olympics, a rhetorical mode we have been exploring in our English class, I have a much different outlook on our track meet weather. A little rain and wind don’t seem too bad after all.