Hadiah Hallam (9), a passionate freshman, participates in cross-country running at Gig Harbor High School. Hallam joined cross country because she has loved running since the fourth grade, where she would run laps around the fields with her friends. and play games that involved running like mushroom tag, sharks and minnows, red light green light, and lots of races. PE was her favorite class throughout elementary and middle school because of the running activities, the sport that has always energized her. “I love how alive you feel when running and how amazing you feel after you finish a good race,” she expressed.

Before every race, she prays, a regular part of her life because of her Christian religion, to calm her nerves and remind her who she’s running for. One of Hallam’s most memorable races took place this season at the Wright Park Meet. She was the first freshman girl to complete the race. “It was just so energizing because I felt strong the whole way and I was able to pass a girl in the end who had a lead on me the whole time,” she explained.

Hallam was progressing quickly throughout the season until September 18, when she was running through town and felt a sharp pain in her knee. She initially ignored it and thought it was just a little pain from running for too long, but not long after, she realized it was a bigger problem than she had originally thought. As the weeks progressed, her injury became worse and worse by the day. Several weeks passed, and she wasn’t able to compete in a lot of the meets but still attended them to cheer and support her friends. Hallam knew that she would compete as soon as possible. She didn’t doubt for a second whether she would keep running. It was one of her biggest passions and wouldn’t give up. As the season came to a close, she started cross-training again while going to physical therapy. She was soon recovering quickly to begin racing again.

Hallam, with her injury in mind, made the decision to run in the junior varsity race at the cross country league meet at Fort Steilacoom Park. She finished first place with a time of 21:53.0 and is determined to continue recovering and training so that she may continue to race and improve her times.