Cross country. My favorite sport. I love running out in the woods, it clears my mind. But I have never been a fast runner. The real reason why cross country is my favorite sport is because of the people. In fact, I met my best friend from running. When I first started cross country, I was always among the last to finish. I was never actually last, but it's been very close. One day, this changed. All because a fellow runner gave me some encouragement.

This happened on my third-ever race. As soon as the gun went off and I started to run, I could tell it wasn't going to be a good race. My whole body was sore. My legs felt like jello. At the one-mile mark, I started to slow down. I was out of breath, and I was gasping for air. That's when I heard footsteps behind me. I thought I was the last one.

"Come on girl you got it! Run with me!" I looked over at her and waited for her before starting to run. I recognized her, I had seen her at another meet before. "What's your name?" She asked me. "I am Emma, you?" I looked over at her and she had the kindest face, I could tell she was a genuine soul. "I'm Lizzy. Nice to meet you, Emma!"

Lizzy and I continued to run and talk together. We ran up and down hills, and we were passing people as we ran. Soon enough, the finish line approached. "Look! We are almost there. Come on, let's sprint to the finish!" Lizzy held out her hand, and I grabbed it. Together, we crossed the finish line. We finished 31st and 32nd, out of 100 girls. The top 35 girls got a medal since it was a hard course.

"We did it!" Lizzy pulled me in for a hug. This was a true friend right here. I hugged her back, smiling. “Wait. Let me get your phone number!” Lizzy said excitedly, letting go of the hug. “Sure.” I smiled. I was in shock, Lizzy was so nice, and I could tell she genuinely wanted to be my friend.

I gave her my phone number, and we have been talking every day ever since. We had become really close, and we were the best of friends. Every weekend we would hang out. She was the only friend I needed. This just proves you can meet your best friend anywhere.