Sunday, September 21, 2014

What's the hardest sport?

Whether you’re sitting in your living room or on the set of “SportsCenter”, athletes and sports fans alike have all, at least once, come across the long standing debate as to which sport is the “hardest”. I’m here to settle the dispute; but in order to do that we must define “hardest”. “Hardest” consists of the physical and mental aspects of every sport, both of which are crucial to success; therefore, in order to win the crown and be dubbed the hardest sport, it must be physically and mentally challenging.

So, which sport is it? The answer might come as a surprise. The hardest sport that exists is none other than cross-country running. Just because it doesn’t have a big ticket market and just because professional runners aren’t celebrities doesn’t mean it’s not the most difficult sport. Those qualifications wouldn't fit the criteria of the “hardest” sport. What makes cross-country running so physically and psychologically demanding is also the sole path to success in it: run as fast as you can, for as long as you have to. It doesn't sound easy, does it?

On the OPRF Cross-Country team, this determining distance is typically three miles. Some might argue that other sports require more strength or quick twitch, but no other sport requires the same amount of pain and physical taxation of a distance race to the finish. Other endurance sports might try to claim the title, but, at the professional level, no other endurance sport contains a 26.2 mile race. Talk about a marathon. Running does not require as much hand-eye coordination as some other sports, and it is almost never featured on “SportsCenter’s” top 10 plays, but from a physical standpoint, distance running demands more from your body than any other sport, and the beautiful paradox is, that nearly anybody can do it. Just run.

As the American running legend Steve Prefontaine once said, “I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more”. Let’s not also forget about the mental aspect of cross-country. My friends who aren’t familiar with cross-country have asked me what I thinking about for all the time while I’m running. I tell them that you have to stay focused on the goal. You can’t let your mind say ‘no’. Running is all about guts. I’ve had, and almost anyone who runs cross-country would agree, many days when my mind and body are telling me to stop. It takes mental strength to overcome your mind and endure the pain, but after a tough workout, nothing feels better than knowing that you have completed it, and you didn’t give up.
  
When finishing a cross-country race, it takes incredible mental strength to tell your legs to start running faster, but as soon as you finish, you feel greatly rewarded. This sense of accomplishment is one of the best parts about cross-country. As the OPRF Varsity Coach says, “Run for fun and personal best”. This catch phrase embodies the beauty and difficulty of running, because when it’s all said and done, your biggest opponent is the clock and ultimately yourself. Running clears your mind, greatly benefits your health, and is without a doubt the hardest sport. As the saying goes, our sport (running) is your sports punishment.





 Steve Prefontaine, one of America's greatest running legends.





16 comments:

  1. I personally don't think that there is a "hardest sport" for the same reason as there is no "hardest subject" at school. It all depends on your effort, natural ability, and motivation. I can see your argument, but determining difficulty of a sport is, in my opinion, a subjective opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah I feel the same way, in repsose to Arjun. I think anyone would argue that their own sport is harder than another persons sport. Some people will never know because they haven't exsperinced the same hardwork as another. Like some could argue that Tennis is harder than Vollybal or that Wrestling is harder than football. I think we all have to come to the conclusion that ALL sports are hard weather it's physical or mental. I could say wrestling is harder than Cross country.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree wholeheartedly with Arjun and Kendale. Each sport is hard in different ways, they all take a lot of both mental and physical skill. Not to mention, you seem to be coming from an extremely biased position. Good arguments can be made for soccer, football, wrestling and every other sport, you only chose to cover cross-country. The hardest sport is relative to the person. You have to look at arguments from other sports as well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I disagree with the other two commenters. There is no doubt that running a cross country race requires more physical and mental strength than playing a game of baseball. This is an objective matter that can be measured by objective means such as calories burned. I agree with your analysis, Henry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But he argued that cross country is the hardest sport, mentally and physically. What makes cross country any more mentally difficult than the metal difficulty of a game of baseball?

      Delete
    2. Each sport has respective difficulties.I'm just arguing that being successful in cross country is more difficult than being successful in any other sport.

      Delete
  5. You said "run as fast as you can, for as long as you have to. It doesn't sound easy, does it?" I could argue that wrestlers have to push themselves for the entire 3 periods as hard as you can without stopping. It doesn’t sound easy to keep pushing yourself with a bloody nose, or the aching pain or someone throwing you 6 feet off the mat, or when your down by 5 points and you have less than a minute to pin your opponent. Does that sound easy to you? You said that running is all about guts, and "It takes mental strength to overcome your mind and endure the pain". A wrestler has to do the exact same thing, not just during a match, but also when working out. A wrestler has to push him or herself harder than his opponent not just to beat him, but to break him. The main point is that any sport is hard, whatever you play. And only you and your teammates can know how difficult it is. So to say "Cross country is the hardest sport", is your opinion, the fact is that Sports are different for everyone else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Every sport has respective difficulties. No doubt about that. No other sport requires the physical taxation of cross country. The quintessential image of athleticism. Running. Endured pain, minimum 17 minutes straight. No breaks, no periods, timeouts or quarters. Just you, your legs, your mind and the clock.

      Delete
    2. Well in my opinion this isn't true. I did cross country in middle school so I know what it takes. But to me it wasn't as hard as the other sports I've played throughout my life. To me it seems your certain the cross country is the most difficult sport, it isn't.

      Delete
  6. I have to disagree with your claim that cross-country is the most difficult sport. While it is true that you must endure a lot of physical and some mental pain, cross country lacks the need for motor skill that is required in many other sports. Tennis, for example, demands not only that you hit the ball hard, but that you return it to your opponent accurately as well. A baseball pitcher can't just throw the ball as hard as possible; he/she requires skill to throw the pitch accurately. It also doesn't matter how hard the batter can hit the ball. It is absolutely necessary for the batter to have quick reflexes in order to initially make contact and also to hit the ball at the right angle. Water polo also requires lots of physical endurance, like cross country. However, you also need to be able to catch and throw the ball fluidly with one arm, eggbeater your upper body up and out of the water to block opponents, and effectively be able to draw a foul on your defender without losing the ball or causing a turnover. While it may be true that cross country can be grueling, it simply doesn't require the actual motor dexterity or skills that other sports do, which makes your claim that it is the "hardest sport" hard to prove.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not defining "hardness" as need for motor skills. I play baseball too, and that requires much more hand - eye coordination. From a Physical and mental standpoint, Cross Country requires the most taxation of any other sports. I am in no way discrediting other sports, I just believeits the most taxing, mentally and physically.

      Delete
  7. As a fellow cross country runner, I agree with you. Like so many team shirts say, "our sport is your sport's punishment" confirms that running is so difficult it can be considered a penalty. And the fact that most of my friends always ask me "why do you choose to run?" only adds more evidence to the argument that cross country is the hardest sport, mentally and physically.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I agree with Henry cross country is by far the hardest sport both physically and mentally. Like Meghan said, running is other sport's punishment, while for cross country that is the sport. Nice article Henry!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I very much agree with you on how cross country is the hardest sport. I like to run whenever I exercise and just after 10 mins of running I start to feel very fatigue. I personally don't do cross country but I do know how strenuous it can be. Great Job!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I never really thought about how some sports were more difficult than others. However, after reading your argument, I can see the logic behind why some would say that cross country is the hardest. Though I do not run cross country and have no interest in doing so, I can testify to how strenuous running can be and understand where you are coming from.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Another thing that makes running hard is contrary to popular belief cross counry has qualities of other sports. For one there is a such thing as strategy in any race you will run people speed up and slow down and if matters when this happens and if you don't have strategy this can affect you. Also just like throwing a base ball kicking a soccer ball or hitting a hockey puck form has relevance it takes years of practice (for some people more than others) it is something and you have to maintain throughout the whole race. Someone might argue that form you dont need hand eye coordination for but when it come to the work ethic there is no difference, you have to do specific exercises and the more you work the more you want to return to your natural form.

    ReplyDelete