My personal story 

my name is Lucy Marcus, and I am a 17-year-old athlete who lives and breathes for their sport. I was a very sporty child, partaking in Gymnastics and Dance.  I then started running track and cross country at 8 years old and I think it is safe to say that I completely fell in love with everything about the sport.  I never thought there would be a day or time when I would have to stop track for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, my nightmare came true at the young age of 11 years old. You might be wondering what kind of Injury I had. Did I break my leg? Tear a muscle?  Twist my ankle? No, I actually developed a very severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. I first got diagnosed with my eating disorder at 11 years old, and little did I know it would be an ongoing battle. I was taken out of sports for nearly a whole year, and it was safe to say when I got back, I did not feel like the athlete that I used to be. I went from winning most of my races to coming dead last but my love for the sport did not fade. We moved to the States when I was 15 years old and I ran for my school Varsity cross country and Track team, I managed to get to all the important meets. Until Bam........ Treatment pt 2. I was working with Boston children's hospital, and they said that I was not where I needed to be. Despite me not believing them I went to McCallum eating disorder center for two months in the summer of 2022 and was not allowed to do any exercise, even though I was in the victory program for athletes. I didn't realize how sick I was, and they told me if I did not receive help there and then I could have gone into heart failure on the track.  I worked hard on recovery and had to put my sport aside which was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. What I didn't realize was getting back into my sport would be even harder. I felt different, and alone in the process despite being surrounded by the biggest supports. Nobody was going through the same thing as I was, and it felt isolating. It took so much longer than expected and I did not realize that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Although my dream of being recruited for D1 is not looking probable I have made it back onto the varsity team and my times are improving. I am starting to feel like a stronger version of the athlete I used to be.