The Race of Life

Laurel Brown, 16
New York

Pop! The starting gun went off and the long line of girls and boys ran across the open field and into the woods. Rachel ran quickly, her dark brown hair streaming out behind her, and she felt her heart start to beat faster. This race was different because guys and girls were running together. This was the race she had been training for the whole season and she had worked hard to get to this point.

The girls in front of her were going too slowly, but there was no room to pass on the narrow trail. There! An opening! She tried to cut between the two girls, but one moved over just as she was going through and tripped over Rachel’s foot. The girl stumbled, but did not fall.

“Sorry!” Rachel apologized. The girl did not answer and kept running. They all ran through the woods, dodging rocks and tree roots that threatened to trip them. The day was cloudy and the woods were dark, so Rachel could just barely see the sticks jutting out of the ground. Ahead of her, she saw some girls walking. She would have encouraged them, but they were on another team and looked faster than she was.

Rachel turned around the bend and came out of the woods into a soccer field. She felt the wet grass soaking into her shoes and socks, making running more uncomfortable. The runners went around the side of the field and some tennis courts. Ahead, Rachel saw Amanda walking.

“C’mon, Amanda…don’t…walk,” Rachel gasped as she passed her. Amanda started running, but Rachel knew that she would walk again after she passed. If she didn’t walk, she would be a much better runner. Amanda always gives up too easily, she thought. Rachel re-entered the woods for the last time and saw Lindsey ahead of her, her black ponytail bouncing up and down. Rachel caught up with her.

“Hi,” said Lindsey. Rachel did not want to waste breath so she just smiled. A boy ahead of them was walking. “Don’t walk, you’re almost there!” Lindsey encouraged. The boy looked back and started jogging with them. Lindsey and Rachel were getting close to the finish; they only had to go out of the woods, across the field, and around the bleachers. The boy was walking again and Rachel and Lindsey passed him.

“If you…beat me…that’s great…and if I win…that sucks…for you,” Lindsey gasped.

Rachel laughed. “I hope I…beat you…but I don’t think…I will.” The two girls came out of the woods, and in the distance Rachel could see the finish line behind the bleachers. She ran across the field and tripped in a ditch in the grass. Her ankle twisted under her, but she did not fall. She straightened up and kept running.

Lindsey was ahead of her by a couple of feet and Rachel heard the boy coming up behind her. She thought, He got to walk so I can’t let him beat me! With that she sprinted as fast as she could to the line and saw Lindsey cross it right ahead of her. Rachel saw the boy almost next to her, and with a last burst of speed, she ran across the line just before he did.

The lady at the finish took the index card that was pinned on Rachel’s shirt, and Rachel and Lindsey hobbled over to the rest of the team to congratulate them.

“You really improved,” Lindsey said. “I mean, last year you were far behind me and this year you were with me most of the race.”

“Yeah, now my goal this season is to beat you,” Rachel joked.

After everyone finished a cool-down run around the tennis courts, they got on the bus to go back to school so their parents could pick them up. When Rachel saw Amanda stagger onto the bus, she congratulated her.

“Good job!”

Amanda smiled and said, “Thanks, you did great too.”

As Rachel looked out the window at the green trees blowing in the wind, she reflected on how much she had improved since she started running in seventh grade. I guess if you keep trying at something, you improve, she thought as she turned to the conversation of the kids around her.