I hear the whistle then the gun sounds. I start running my teammate Riley is next to me. The people from odyssey cut in front of us. No it wasn’t a real gun were running from, this is a track meet At Conway middle, my school. When I run, I can’t hear anybody I just zone everybody else out. The only person I can hear is my coach. He tells me that the kid in the lead is running a four minute mile pace. I tell riley to not get sucked in by the by the people running ahead of us. The kid in the lead is number 44 he is very fast but not that fast. That doesn’t mean he can keep that pace. We finish lap one. I run a PR of 69 for my 400 meter. We pass a couple of odyssey kids, they look exhausted. I hope the guys up front are that exhausted too. Two of the runners drop off. Now there are just two of them ahead of us. We start our third lap and were going fast. I just ran a time of 2:36 800 meter for the first two laps. We finish the third lap and there are only three of us, number 44. He is the one that sprinted ahead. I didn’t think he would last this long. As soon as we pass the line to start lap 4 riley takes off. I’ll tell you he has a powerful kick. He takes number 44 by surprise when he passes him.
I start to speed up two. Riley is very far ahead already so it’s just me and 44. We’re rounding the last corner when I start sprinting. He’s a good distance ahead of me but I’m going pretty fast. Were at the 50 meter mark when I catch up with him. I try to pass him and it happens. He very quickly reaches out his arm and elbows me. I stumble because I can’t get past him. I slow down because I’ve lost my momentum. We cross the finish line and I finish 3rd. I’m devastated. As I haul my legs back to my team all my energy leaves me. And then of course my teammates rush me. I yell “get away from me”. Not cause I’m mad but I’m just really tired. I slowly drag myself over to the tent and find a seat. I make a silent vow to train harder than ever to beat that kid in county. The rest of the meet go by in a blur. I barely remember running the 800 meter. The next day is go time. I start training harder than ever. Every day is a hard day no matter what he says. If he says jog, I sprint. When we run super loops I go hard until my teammates are way behind me .I start to feel stronger by the time the last meet comes after all my training the last mile comes with a gunshot.bam!! I’m off running harder and faster than I ever have. After the first lap I look back and nobody is within 100 meters of me. The second lap is finished and I’m still going strong. On the fourth lap is when I start my kick. I feel so good I run even faster. The last 100 meters is smooth sailing, nobody passes me. I ran across the finish line feeling happier than everi ran a 4:57 mile. Then I realize something that winning isn’t everything. Then the next week county comes. I start the first lap at a monster pace. The third lap is really tough and I’m getting tired. Then we start the fourth lap and I lead. The race ends with me finishing first. I’m so happy I go to my team to celebrate. We get congratulations from the other people for a great race. Then I see number 44 come over and he apologizes for pushing me that first race. I am happier than ever than I say okay. The next day when I get home I just think that come next year. I’ll be ready.