For most people, running may seem like a punishment; however, for cross country runners, it is their sport, their motivation and their driving force for success. Antioch Community High School junior Charlie Smith is no exception to this as he absolutely loves endurance. Originally a swimmer, Smith has since taken to running as his passion.

“I tried cross country in seventh grade, and I just fell in love with it after that,” Smith said.

Currently in season, running takes up most of his time outside of school, and many students know that balancing school work with athletics and extracurriculars can be very difficult. Even with everything on his plate, Smith not only excels in cross country, but also with his academics.

“If my school work becomes too much to handle with cross country, I do recognize that,” Smith said. “I will focus more on the school work than running because I’m really here as a student first and an athlete second.”

Being an accomplished athlete and going to state last year, Smith still has many goals set for not only himself, but also the whole team as well.

“A lot of people don’t know that cross country is a team sport before it is an individual sport,” Smith said.

Getting the whole team down to state is just as important to Smith as accomplishing his own goals of winning. As a team captain, he does his best to motivate everyone to work hard each and everyday, and to never give up. When people are new to endurance running or training of any kind, he thinks that it is best to keep at it.

“It’s a tough sport,” Smith said. “I’m not gonna say it’s easy, but you have to trust in what you do and know that what you’re doing each day is making you better even though you may not be able to tell right away.”

Smith tries his hardest to be a good example of an accomplished athlete that manages to balance running with school work. He stays motivated and in good spirits, all while being a good team leader and having his sights set on getting his team down to state.