1. Every school year it was inevitable: You had to run the mile in gym class.
2. You’d try to finagle your way out through any means necessary.
3. But no one bought what you were selling.
4. It started out OK, and you felt like maybe this was the year you’d broach a single-digit run.
5. But after a minute, everything was the worst.
6. If you were out in a field, you were told not to cut corners.
But you did anyway to stay alive.
7. There was always that asshole who ran it in six minutes and liked it.
8. The President’s Challenge added even more pressure to not be on the bottom rung of percentiles.
9. And if it was brisk outside, your nose ran it along with you.
10. You'd have to run around the kids who were too cool to run.
11. After what felt like an eternity, you'd flop across the finish line.
12. But then it was all over.
13. If you had classes after, you were all sweaty.
14. Until that fateful day came when you no longer had to take gym class.
15. Now any running you do is voluntary.
16. And you get to pick the trail.
17. Even if it's not a scenic one.
