Embrace the Pace

I recently read a blog post by High School Health Freak called 2.5 miles to 3.1 (Cross country course change), discussing the recent change to the women's high school cross country racing distance. The author of the post is devastated by the change, I on the other hand am excited for the new challenge.
For as long as I've known, the course distance for girls cross country has been a 4k or 2.5 miles and the boys' distance has been a 5k or 3.5 miles. I always wondered why this was the case, I always thought that the girls were just as capable of a 5k distance as the boys are. Now, Iowa officially decided to make the change, girls will now be running a 5k as well as the boys, starting in the fall of 2015. Many girls around Iowa are sad, upset and angry about the change in distance. However, I just see it as a new challenge to conquer. Not that cross country isn't already difficult, but being a senior in high school next year I am excited for a change. It means that we will all have to work a little bit harder but that also means that we will be in better shape than ever before.
I also have a strong belief that sports should let girls off the hook. I believe that we are just as capable as everything the boys are. It was almost an insult that the girls' race was shorter than the boys. We may not get times that are quite as fast as the boys, but that does not mean that we should have a shorter race. So, I am happy that this new distance allows us to measure up against the boys.
Lastly, girls in Iowa might be upset about the change but we are actually one of the last states to make the change. The only states that still have cross country girls running the 4k distance as of the 2014 season are Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, and Iowa. There are 10 and there will soon be 9. That means that 40 other states have already made the change. We really have nothing to complain about, times change. That just means that we are being seen more as equals which is actually something to be really happy about. 
So to everyone who is only looking at the negatives of this change, look a little bit closer, because there is so much good that will come from it. It's a new experience and challenge, and it shows that girls don't need a shorter distance, we can be just as good without it. 

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