Against All Odds - Short Essay

Against All Odds - Short Essay

  • Submitted By: salenacyrus
  • Date Submitted: 02/06/2013 2:40 AM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 926
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 188

Eight of us line up, to run a race that will long be remembered by the people who witness it. Everything surrounding me becomes a haze between the track, my competitors and the massive group of spectators patiently waiting in anticipation. The split seconds before the start feel like an eternity. BANG! The ear-piercing explosion of the gunshot sets us off, with no one even imagining the outcome of the race…
* * *
The ISST’s in Brussels were my first, after having missed the two previous competitions due to injury. Understandably, I was incredibly nervous to be running in the biggest track tournament in Europe, with virtually no more than two weeks of training. I had nothing to hope for. No goals, no aspirations.
Going into the second day of events after a dreadful start to my first day, I wanted to forget the setback from the previous day and start fresh. I had to concentrate on my coming races. I had an 800 meter final to look forward to, with hopes of merely not coming last.
I had a fairly calm, uneventful morning, which consisted mainly of watching other races, in the icy, cold morning. The level of competition and the ability of some of the athletes struck me from the first race. It was evident that every athlete had worked incredibly hard to get where they were. The more I waited and watched the other events, the more anxious I got to run my race. “800 Meter JV boys, please report to the start.” The voice coming from the tournament office was booming, impossible to overhear. My time to run had finally come. It was the moment I had been waiting for the whole day.
Just as I had checked in to my race, Mrs. Wright and Lauri, came over to me and gave me a few words of advice, before the most important race of my life. They advised me to keep my cool and not start out too fast, because the last lap would be vigorous and I needed energy to keep pushing through. It was true, I had nothing to lose. Even though I had no experience in the race and less training...

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