The sun was low in the sky in the late afternoon, broadcasting a golden glow over the district stadium. Cassian stood alongside his teammates, energy "thick as fog" for this beginning of this latest set of the day. He had quite a nice run during the preliminary 100-meter sprint, but the focus was now going to shift to his friends. The 200, 300, and 400-meter runs were next, and each one would bring them one step closer to the final event: the relay.
Mark and Sarah, Cassian's parents, remained seated in the stands, attentive. His father nodded reassuringly at him; his mother smiled warmly. Cassian stood there quietly, already mentally preparing for his part in the relay later on. First, however, it was his teammates' turn.
The first event scheduled was the 200-meter sprint. Jackson was at the starting line, the fastest of them all after Cassian. There was so much tension as the runners crouched into their starting positions as the air was pierced by the sound of the starter pistol.
Jackson shot out of the blocks, his form crisp and powerful. His long strides were immediately consuming the track as he gave it all he could deliver, but the sprinter from Riverside High was no slouch either. They rushed side by side down the straightaway, but in the last few meters, the Riverside runner was able to edge just a little bit ahead of him. Jackson crossed the finish line in 2nd place, with frustration painted upon his face, but he gave it all he had.
Then came the 300-meter sprint, and into it went Ethan. Strong, built for endurance, but that 300 was a tricky distance. He came out at a comfortable speed as the race opened and carried that rhythm through half of the track. But rounding the final bend, Ethan had trouble keeping ahead of the pack. He powered through the burning lactic acid in his legs to cross the line in 4th place. A very good effort, but it was clear things were going to be a bit harder than expected.
Now it was Ryan's turn for the 400-meter sprint. A middle-distance powerhouse, his confidence showed in the way he stood at the line. At the start, he leapt off the blocks smoothly and precisely, pacing flawlessly. He waited for his turn to seize the pack again. But in approaching the final 100 meters of the race, Ryan caught his gear and crossed the finish line 100 meters in the lead, leaving his opponents behind. Securing 1st place was a crucial win for the team.
With the individual events over and done with, everybody was looking for one thing: the relay.
Cassian's team was lined up at the starting line, each of them exchanging a determined glance. It was that race that would finally declare the overall winner for the district; they knew it wasn't going to be an easy one. Riverside High had been a strong team all day long, and nobody was willing to just let go of the championship.
Now Cassian was the anchor-to-be, the last runner in this relay, and this serious burden weighed him down. All his teammates had worked hard to be able to come this far to finish with him, and he just couldn't let them down.
The first leg runner of his team was Marcus, the solid sprinter with explosive power. When the starting gun fired, Marcus shot off the blocks holding his own against the Riverside sprinter. Soon, it was 100 meters past and I handed over the baton to Ethan, who went off for the second leg.
Ethan ran his heart out, but Riverside was too fast. By the time he passed it off to Jackson at the third leg, they were behind by almost two seconds. The crowd knew it, and Cassian felt his heart pounding as he prepared to take off.
Jackson ran like a man possessed, eyes glued to the runners in front of him. He pushed his body until it gave in, trying his desperation to catch up, but Riverside was still ahead. As Jackson rounded into the final stretch, he handed over the baton to Cassian, and everything changed.
Cassian took the baton and exploded off the line, his legs pounding the track in a rhythmic motion, as he was now entering the drive phase. Everything becomes numb in his head; his whole life narrowed down to just himself and the runners ahead of him. The gap remained, but he felt himself closing it inch by inch.
He now enters the acceleration phase of his body, gaining at a clip with each step. His cadence is spot on, the rhythmical pull of his breathing synchronized with the rhythm of the race; by the halfway mark he will feel the bones tap within his to close on the lead runner.
Cassian had hit his Maximum Velocity Phase just past the 70-meter mark, and here the gap started closing. At 80 meters, the Riverside anchor was pretty fast, but Cassian was faster. At 30 meters from the finish, he had just a foot for company. The finish line loomed ahead, and the roar of the crowd screamed in his ears, but all he could care for was the race.
In the last 10 meters, Cassian discovered in himself something deep inside him—a final spurt of speed that carried him over the top and beyond his very limits. He gained ground enough to actually close the entire gap, and as the two sprinters crossed the finish line, nobody could discern who had won.
The crowd held its collective breath, waiting for the official time to appear on the scoreboard.
Then came the result on the screen: Cassian's team had won by 2 milliseconds.
The crowd erupted into cheers as Cassian's teammates came running to him, lifting him aloft into the air. They had done it—they were district champions.
Cassian panted, scanning over to the other end of the pool, where the Riverside team watched their anchor. He could see how dazed the anchorman was; he saw the coach shake his head in amazement. Cassian grinned, knowing that they had left everything in the tank. As he gazed towards the stands, Mark and Sarah looked at him with their faces full of pride. He nodded toward them, a silent expression of thanks for what they had done for him.
They became champions.