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| Tosha at the Olympic Trials 2012 |
"A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true"
- Cinderella
There may be no better feeling in the world than the joy of accomplishing a dream that no one else ever expected you to. Just ask Natosha Rogers- she came in second in the 10k at the Olympic Trials this past June 2012. At the time of the trials, Natosha was a middle to low pack qualifier which means that the other runners in the race had entered with race times faster than hers. Barely anyone had heard of her because (1) This was only her 4th time racing the 10k and (2) Previous to this past track season, she had few successes to her credit.
During the first mile in the race- Natosha went down and hard. She was tripped, trampled, and at the back of the pack. No one thought she could get back up and maintain a second place pace when she got back up and pressed the leaders at the beginning of the second mile mark. As she kept pressing the pace, the crowd began to roar- people started asking, "Who is she?" especially when she started to take the lead. The commentator of the race expected her to fade- he even announced it but Natosha never did. Somewhere in her heart she found the courage and stamina to finish strong.
Natosha achieved what others thought was the impossible- but she did it by committing herself day in and day out- never stopping her dream engine and always believing in herself. She wanted to be one of the leaders in that race and she did it. But it took her 3 years to get to this point- it was not easy.
Does it seem like the road to your dream is a grueling race? Keep Natosha in mind before you give up or think achieving your dream is out of reach. Believe in yourself like Natosha did. We all enjoy achieving a dream but sometimes we forget that we have to do the small things to get there and that it takes a strong and patient mentality. Being faithful in doing the small things like rehab for injuries, drills, strides, ice baths, recovering, being healthy, and resting...are all ways to gain, maintain, and demonstrate the strength needed to accomplish something great.
Watch these links to learn more about Natosha and how awesome she is:
http://www.flotrack.org/speaker/10820-Natosha-Rogers/video/643436-Natosha-Rogers-finds-inner-spark-this-year-for-huge-breakthroughs-at-2012-US-Olympic-Trials
http://www.flotrack.org/article/13137-Natosha-Rogers-Shocks-the-World-Day-1-Performance-of-the-Night
