Chasing the Baton

Chasing the Baton — page 3 — ONEONE S l ow Motio n Eight pairs of spikes click-click-clicked on the red rubber track Eight runners churned legs and arms rushing along the backstretch My teammate Adam was just inches ahead of me I thought he would have left me in the dust by now Not today Adam and the other eighth graders demolished me in most of the workouts But halfway through my first middle school race I was on the verge of a win I could feel it Kick hard I told myself as we rounded the turn You’ve got this Less than 200 meters to cover now In half a minute I’d be done I reached deep for more speed Blow past these guys But suddenly I had nothing left My legs were 4

Chasing the Baton — page 4 — turning to jelly and my arms were as heavy as cement Why was I running in slow motion Somehow I fought through the turn and onto the straightaway I looked up toward the finish line but I couldn’t see that far What I could see were the other runners pulling away The next-to-last runner was 5 meters ahead of me Adam was out of sight Finish strong Marcus yelled my friend Torry Santana Kick But I wasn’t sure if I could finish at all There would be nothing strong about it that’s for sure My shoulders were tight I could taste the chili I’d had for lunch about to come up I was wobbling from side to side and the finish line was still 50 meters away Finally I crossed it I closed my eyes and leaned over hands on my knees puffing hard Last place Torry ran up to me Great start Then he lowered his voice and grinned Horrible finish 5

Chasing the Baton — page 5 — I straightened up and looked around I could barely see the bleachers but I knew my dad was up there I coughed up a wad of spit Where’s our stuff Torry pointed to a pile of orange-and-blue sweats on the infield I fumbled in a pocket for my glasses and suddenly I could see It must be hard to race when you can’t see where you’re going Torry said I forced a smile I can see well enough to stay in my lane I don’t like sprinting with my glasses on For sports like basketball and soccer I wear protective goggles but running isn’t much of a problem I just wish nobody else had seen it I got trounced Coach Parrish tapped me on the shoulder Not bad for the first time Thorpe he said You went out way too fast but you’ll learn The 400 is all about pacing 6

Chasing the Baton — page 6 — I nodded Pace and pain Coach grinned I never said it was easy He turned and hurried to the finish line as the next race was beginning I flopped onto the grass and yanked off my spikes I don’t get it I said We’ve been training for three weeks And I was already in good shape before that I thought I’d finish near the leaders but I was a long way from being the best I was so far out I couldn’t even see the winners How did I wind up last You were right with em halfway through Torry said You’ll get stronger Wish I were a sprinter like you I said Torry had placed fourth in the 100-meter dash There’s barely enough time to get tired in a race that short I told him Boom It’s over before you know it Ha Torry replied It still hurts For about two seconds 7

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