Yeah, I lived in southern Missouri at the time. I tried out one year and was a dismal failure. So over the summer, through all of the hills, I built up my stamina to where I could run "around the block" in the deep country where I lived. The "block" was approximately 5 miles.
When I got back to school the following year, 5 miles on a flat track was nothing. I was 16 at the time.