ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER

Nike Women has teamed up with GIRL, a magazine celebrating female high school athletics. But it is more than your average sports publication. GIRL gives high school athletes a voice. It's a forum that allows prep athletes and teams to express what matters most to them in the world of sports.

Nike Women is ready to talk too. They want to talk training and who better to converse with than student athletes like you? The topic is training, the voice is yours and the medium is GIRL magazine.

Let's talk training.

Franklin High School in Portland, OR was the first of five schools chosen to participate in the Nike Final Five Event. There I met with the girls cross country team and 14x All American runner Ari Lambie. We tried out the new Nike Sister One+ training shoe and talked candidly about tough training days.

"It's really nice to have someone running right by you. If you're having a hard time, or they are, you can encourage each other as you are running, tell each other, ‘come on, you can do this,'" said a member of the team.

It’s such heart and determination that qualified the girls to participate in the program. Coach Hennessey and Michaels can vouch for how hard the girls work. "Marvelous Monday is a tough day and a challenging work out," said Coach Hennessey. Coach Michaels adds, "This year is even more challenging because we've added morning runs."

While the girls have set the bar high for surrounding area cross-country teams, they aren't letting their triumphs go to their head. The presence of Nike runner Ari Lambie was a humbling and awe inspiring moment for the team.

"It's just really cool to see someone that actually did it. Sometimes I think it can’t be done, going to college and running, doing well at both things," said another runner.

Some of the girls on Franklin High School’s cross country team will continue their running careers in college and perhaps beyond. And others will hang up their shoes after high school.

Regardless of where their finish line lies there is no doubt these girls will cross it in record time. All they have to do is put one foot in front of the other.

-Meghan