" Alright everyone, today we will be focusing on cardio. We will be doing a mile run through the school today. Alright? "
A man who seemed to be in his mid twenties stood in front of over a hundred children. He stood tall and had a short sleeved white shirt alongside some brown pants. He had brown hair and clear but firm green eyes. A commonality between the children is the fact that they were all around 8 years old. They stood in 10 rows of 15 with 4 other adults standing next to the brown haired man.
" Yes, Sir! " The kids said. The man clapped.
" Let's get started then. For the boys, do a mile in under 18 minutes to get full credit. If it takes you longer than 25 minutes it's a failing grade. Girls you get 21 minutes. 28 and it's a fail. Everyone get to your starting positions. "
As the young children walked over to the entrance to the gym while they talked among themselves. However not all of them were. The focus is one boy. He didn't particularly stand out. Brown hair, brown eyes, average in terms of looks, height, and muscle. He wore a black shirt like all the other kids alongside some brown pants.
He found himself towards the front of the pack waiting as the teachers let everyone prepare for the run. It was 8 in the morning although they had all arrived around 30 minutes earlier. They had to do some light exercises before the run which happened every week. The head teacher stood in front of all of them.
" Alright, before we get started let me say some words. This is not a race so do not start out at full speed. Doing so will only make you tire faster and you may not be able to complete the mile in the allotted time. All 5 of us, your teachers, will be going at different speeds so we don't lose anyone. If you do get lost don't worry as there are other staff around the campus that will be more than happy to help you. We're about to start so get ready. "
The man walked in front of everyone with the other teachers finding their place. Soon the man started jogging and everyone soon followed suit. He started out a bit fast causing a lot of the kids at the front to struggle to keep up. Seeing this he slowed down to a more responsible pace. Some kids passed others while others started following behind others. The head teacher paid attention to everyone as he kept a steady pace.
' Seems 27 of the kids can keep a pace faster than average for their age. 74 have an average pace, 38 have a bit of a slower pace, and the remaining 11 are slow. I'll need to see about their stamina though. They're only 8 and it's the first week so i'll be a little easier on them. '
With these thoughts he continued running through the campus. The kid mentioned before was in the first group of students but towards the back. His breathing wasn't even nor was he breathing in a rhythm. He wasn't sweating yet but it wouldn't be that way for long.
As they ran he looked around a bit. The campus was massive. In the school there were 2659 students in his age group. There were trees, benches, massive buildings, gardens, and other things. His attention was temporarily grabbed by the squirrel but he passed by it quickly.
As the minutes ticked by he glanced behind him and saw a few students but the other group was a bit in the distance. He was now visibly sweating, his breathing was rougher and his legs started to hurt a bit. A couple of the kids beside him were starting to fall behind and everyone seemed a bit tired. Their teacher however wasn't sweating in the slightest.
" That's the first quarter. It's been only 3 and half minutes. Keep up the pace. "
He shook his head and steeled himself as he increased his pace a little. At the halfway mark they passed another teacher with some students. He didn't pay much attention to them though as the pain in his legs started to feel more like a burn.
" Guys when running try to breathe in a regular pattern. For example, breathe in for 3 steps and exhale for 2. It might be a bit hard at first but you'd get used to it with time. "
They all took his advice and immediately tried it. They didn't really feel a difference but they didn't second guess what he said.
By the time they only had one quarter left their pace had noticeably slowed. The boy mentioned before held his stomach for a bit as he grit his teeth. His legs felt like they were on fire and his stomach had even started to hurt. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were getting a bit blurry. At this point every step was a small struggle to him. He wiped his brow as he continued.
At some point the teacher and some of the other kids had gained a dozen meters on him but he saw the gym. This motivated him a bit as he continued on. A bit before he reached the gym he had slowed to a walk. He barely heard the words of his teacher.
" 17 minutes 29 seconds. Good job. There's some water over there. It's been cooled so don't worry about that. "
The kid felt like he was floating. He could tell he was walking but he felt light on his feet. He felt a bit of serenity despite his tiredness. He picked up some water and drank half of it in one go. He breathed heavily as he laid down. He looked up and it seemed like the sky was spinning. He could hear his heart beating and he closed his eyes as he started feeling a little sick.
" You ok? " the voice of a girl entered his ears.