Dedication to the sport

    It's that time of year again, when the weather starts to cool off and snow begins to fall. This is the time to see who people really are. During the winter, is when one can see the true dedication and motivation of a person towards being the best. This factor is one of the hardest things that any athletes face not only physically, but mentally as well.
    As a runner, you can't expect to get any better by not doing anything over the winter. Yes, the invention of treadmills are around, but in the long run of things the treadmill takes a beating on a person's body. Think about it, is a person running outside in the awful weather condition better than a person who runs indoor on a treadmill all winter. There are many factors to look at comparing these two people to one another.
   A person outside has to deal with multiple factors that could effect them. The breathing becomes more harder, your body becomes frozen, and all you want to do is quit. This is the most mental pain that anyone can go through especially if they are racing in it. When people talk about pushing the body to the extreme, I feel this fits pretty good to the idea.
   People who run on treadmills put their body's through wear and tear a lot more. There have been studies stating that treadmills destroy people's knees. Yes, its always an advantage to be able to run inside in warmth, but is it worth the beathing. Over time though, I guess the body is going to take a beating especially with running, but nothing you can do if you participate in basically any events involving working out.
  To put things in perspective, if someone wants to be the best they have to put the time and effort in. Without this a person will not be able to reach their max potential. Dedication and motivation is two key words that I feel sum up the whole winter training of sports, but this is where you see find the true athletes.