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Never Give Up - My Inspirational Track Story
I stood anxiously at the starting line, bouncing on the balls of my feet. A million thoughts were streaming through my mind. Remember to four-step…Snap that leg down…Remember to reach…and don’t false start! Kneeling down, I lined my fingers up perfectly with the starting line and pressed my feet firmly into the blocks behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a sea of maroon calling my name. Stay focused, I told myself, keeping my eyes on the starter. As his arm went up, so did my rear, my heart pounding like a bass drum.
BAM! My body reacted instantly when the gun went off. Suddenly I was shooting towards the first hurdle with a roaring cheer of, “C’mon Kennedy!” behind me. My legs knew what to do, thank God for muscle memory, and I was speeding over hurdle after hurdle. Coach Scarpino always told us not to turn our heads to look at where others are because it slows us down, but I couldn’t help but tilt my head the slightest bit to gauge my position. A girl in a light blue uniform and I were neck in neck heading into the last few hurdles and my legs were churning even harder as I inched into the lead.
Without warning, I was sprawled on the ground. I’ve never fallen before! That did not just happen. I bounced up quickly and ran speedily over the last couple hurdles. I foolishly thought that if I could recover quickly maybe nobody would notice my fall.
My eyes on the ground, I grabbed my sweats and started walking back to camp. I just lost us the race. That was the stupidest fall. My family even came to watch me this time! I didn’t even notice the mangled patch of blood and gravel that was my knee, until my coach asked me about it.
“Are you okay?” Coach Scarpino asked me, looking worriedly at my knee. “That was a pretty rough fall you took there.”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to fall, I don’t know what happened, I lost us all those points, I’m sorry.” I said in a rush, still not feeling the pain in my knee.
“Don’t be sorry, you did your best, and you’re still the best hurdler I have. ” He told me gently. “But we definitely have to clean up your knee.”
I looked down at my knee and immediately looked away in repulsion. “Now that you mention it, it does kind of hurt a little,” I said as he took out some ointment and bandage wrap from the first aid kit.
This was when my friends swarmed over us, and they knew better than to ask me questions right now. I stood enveloped in hugs, and that’s when my eyes finally swelled up with the tears I had been trying to hold back. When I finally pulled away, Coach Scarpino had finished wrapping my leg.
My mouth dropped open a bit as I saw my leg bandaged from my thigh to the top of my calf. How in the world am I supposed to run like this?! I can barely bend my knee!
“Well, it’s up to you if you’re going to run the 400 or not.” He told me, before leaving to check on the other races.
By now, most of my friends had left to get ready for their own races, and it was just Jessie left at my side. “Are you going to run?” she asked me, a concerned look on her face.
“I’m not sure.” I said slowly, still thinking over my options. I definitely didn’t want to be a quitter, but I didn’t want to hurt the team more than I already had. My alternate would be in much better shape to run than I would. “Let’s go check who my alternate is.” I said, walking towards the team clipboard, before Jessie pulled me back.
“I’m your alternate.” She told me, a grin of irony on her face. “You’re a better 400 runner than me, but if you can’t do it…” she said, gesturing at my knee, “I’ll try my best.”
I bit my lip, “We should both stretch out, I don’t think I’ll make up my mind until the last minute.”
As we went through the motions of our warm ups, neither of us were really focused on stretching. With every move I made, I could feel the pain in my knee and Jessie was worrying over whether or not she’d have to run. When they called for all 400 runners to report to the staging area, we both walked over without saying a word. It wasn’t until the starter started checking off names that I made up my mind.
I did not want this day to go to waste. After an hour-long bus ride and months of pushing myself to be the best I could be, I just couldn’t give up now. When he called out my name, I stepped up and spoke loudly and clearly. “Here.”
Jessie smiled at me proudly, giving me a thumbs-up. I stepped out on the track, and the girl in the lane next to me took one look at my knee and gasped in horror. “How can you run like that?” She gasped at the blood seeping through my bandage.
“I’ll manage.” I answered, with a shrug of my shoulders, trying to block out everything but this race. Even though I had minimal confidence in myself, I was just going to grit my teeth and run this race. My head straight ahead and my body tense, I waited for the gunshot. Then we were off.
Shooting like a bullet around the curve, my arms and legs were pumping hard. With my adrenaline rush I didn’t even notice how much my knee hurt. My hair was streaming behind me as I flew down the last straightaway. It wasn’t until I crossed the finish line that I realized I’d just won.
“Your time was 1:05 honey, great job.” The timer told me with a friendly smile. 1:05? That’s my best time ever! How did that just happen? Did I really just do that?! Still panting and trying to catch my breath, I hobbled over to the sideline where my friends and family were waiting for me.
“Girl, you showed them!”
“That was amazing!”
“You didn’t just win, you smoked them!”
Once again, I was surrounded with hugs, but this time they were a little more joyful. I held my blue ribbon clenched in my fist, triumph shining in my eyes.
If I can run my best time ever with only my injured leg and my will to succeed, I believe that the sky’s the limit. Martina Navratilova, the tennis legend, said it best: “Just go out there and do what you've got to do.” This spring, I’m looking forward to tearing up the track!
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| Average Grade: A |
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