Last week I declared my hatred for running. I stopped on a run to walk because I was dying and said to myself, "Why do I do this?" I could not take one more step. I was out of breath, tired and thought that I was out of shape. I had become so tired in the last couple of weeks that I thought that I was doing something wrong. Stressed, tired and constantly sore, I reached out to someone who has always believed in me and knew that I could do it–my high school coach, Tracy Harris.

This sounds silly idealizing one human. I know that so many others believe in me and have believed in me and my goals. I love all of my coaches and coaching experiences. However, no one has known me better than he has. I was the slowest starting out on my high school team. But, I knew that he saw so much more in me. I knew that he saw something in me that no one had ever seen before.

Passion is something that Tracy holds dear to his heart and it is contagious. His love for running allows other people to see how truly great it is. His passion for his team is something that I have never seen before. When I was in high school, I wasn't the fastest. I wasn't going to become a star or even a collegiate athlete. I never dreamed of even making it on to varsity. However, Tracy knew that I was capable of so many things. He believed in me and showed me the many great things that I could do.

Season after season, I would find my love for running grow. His encouragement allowed me to see the improvements that I was making. I was slowly turning into a better runner and nothing could stop me. I remember him constantly shouting as I would beat my personal best or have a good workout. I was incredibly happy with how my running career was going. When Tracy told me that I could run in college, I was astonished. I did not think that I was good enough. However, Tracy always knew.

My first year of college was not my greatest. I struggled so hard to find the joy in running. I thought that I would never become any better. During this time, I often talked to Tracy, knowing that he would give some words of wisdom or encourage me. He talked me through my whole first year and never stopped believing in me.

Sophomore year was exceedingly better because I was not going to give up. The encouragement that I had received was enough to push me to the next level. It fired me up and got me to where I wanted to be. My friends who were still in high school would talk to me and tell me all of the things that Tracy said about me. He would talk about my races or discuss how I was on J.V. in high school and now I was running collegiately. He inspired me to follow the dreams I never knew I had.

Talking to Tracy after this last week made me realize something so important. Working hard will get you places, but having someone believe in you will get you even further. Tracy and I discussed that I need to find my love for running again and he believes that I will. He inspired me to follow my dreams I never knew I had and he knows that I will find my passion again.

Tracy has not only taught me about running, but also about life. Believing in someone will allow people to reach their goals they did not even know they had. I encourage everyone to believe in someone. Take a minute and show how passionate you are about that person and their dreams. Believing in someone allows them to find hope in something they never even imagined. It shows them passion and how their goals can be reached. Believe in yourself. Believe in others. Believe to inspire and to dream.