Of course all of these long training runs where meant to prepare you for the weekly 3-mile races. We were considered a small school so we were grouped with similar schools within our region during our regular season. At several points throughout our season we would have the opportunity to race against schools outside of our region in CIF invitationals, with the most notable race being the Annual Bellarmine Griffith Park Cross Country Invitational (here is a taste for those of you who have never been to a cross country race). Every year there were certain schools that were the teams to beat and the team from McFarland, CA consistently proved to be a powerhouse team. Every year I would cheer for them, even if I was running against them, because they were 1) hard-core, amazingly talented runners, 2) we shared a Mexican heritage, and 3) they trained in worst conditions than I did. So when I saw that Disney Pictures had produced a movie about the original McFarland cross country team I had to share my story with you and give my respects. Although I never ran against the team portrayed in the movie, I did race against the legacy that this team founded, and hopefully I’ll one day have a son or daughter that gets a chance to compete against the future running greats from McFarland, CA.