Wednesday before Finals ... "The Drive"

I received a letter today from the Trupp family, which they gave me the permission to post.  It says the following:

Dear cross country team, coaches and Coach Peters

Wow! We are so grateful for the time and generosity that you all have given to support our family. Rebecca is slowly recovering, although she still has daily headaches. She has therapy 4 days a week in Loma Linda. However, she works hard everyday and uses the drive she learned from cross country, track and DECA. Thank you again for all your support and prayers.

Fondly, The Trupp Family --

"Once a Wolf, Always a Wolf."

Neat letter, (Thanks Trupps!)  and more so another reminder of what's important in life. While CIF Finals is a great and tremendous achievement for any high school cross country runner, it pales compared to life itself. We're grateful for the life that's been granted to Rebecca; even to all of us.

But the letter reminded me too what always inspired us about Rebecca, and what I hope will be a characteristic of your races on Saturday. The Drive.  Rebecca was unceasing in her pursuit of improvement and excellence. She was, and is still, a driven person.

I want to encourage you to head into the CIF Finals determined to drive toward your goal. Drive into the hills.  When it gets tough, when the pain mounts, drive through it. Don't give up. Don't surrender just because it's hard. Drive to the finish line.

Being driven in life can have it's drawbacks, but in my opinion, it is more often the path to success than it is the path to defeat. 

Rebecca Trupp has shown us how its done. Let's show her we've been paying attention.