The two preceding sentences apply both to Tomball senior Caitlyn Tait.

The Tomball cross country runner picked up her pace in life when was doctor-ordered at age to wear those hip to leg metal braces the majority of people only see in movies.

 "I had to wear the braces because my hips have missing parts," said Tait.

The doctor's orders helped mold Tait into the high-edurance-runner she is today.

"I started running because I had to. I had to keep very active or else I would be having to get a hip replacement by forty which would be sooner than expected and it turned out to be something I was good at" said the runner.

Tait first started playing and loving the demanding sport of soccer as a young gun.

"I love soccer but stopped playing mid-way through high school because my schedule got too busy with travel soccer and school." And it wasn't until junior high when she participated in competitive long distance running for the first time.

"Running in junior high was fun, not as serious as it is now at all, see in junior high when I was able to pick what we did in class that day I picked games that required little effort but now that running could possibly pay for my college it's different."

The Lady Cougar has gotten offers to run on the collegiate level from University of Memphis and semi-close to home Abilene Christian University. The almost-certified EMT would like to study pre-med and bio-chemistry.

As a member of Tomball High School's "V-Squad" or "CCC" (both different names for the school's toy-sized cross country team), the senior approximately runs an average of 60 to 70 miles a week, meaning she could essentially run from her house along the hectic Houston streets of SH-249, Beltway 8, and I-45 to downtown.

"If I wanted I mean yeah I could but I'm one-hundred percent sure I would never, I'm not really into adrenaline from danger," laughed Tait.

The athlete's rigorous training has lead to a handful of accomplishments that gladly sit at the top of her running career.

"If I had to pick the things I am most proud of I would have to say finishing 3rd in area and running my two-mile in 11:19, which was 15 seconds away from someone who is now going to run in the Olympics. Yeah now that person is ridiculously better, but I still find it to be pretty awesome," confessed Tait.

The program that the college-bound runner leads is a small one but shouldn't be underestimated.

"Our team is tiny, I think we have around 20 runners in total. Most schools we compete against have more on just their girls team, that puts us at a disadvantage because the chances of us putting up more high numbers than the other big teams are slim. So we may have some low numbers but just so the school knows, people do try," said Tait.