When I picked her up after school today, my daughter had her cross-country uniform on, ready to race in the first city-wide event of the season.
But she also was limping (she's had sore ankles for weeks) and was worried about the heat. It was over 80 degrees here in the Mission, where her school is located -- not good running weather, to put it mildly.
On the way to the Polo Fields, we stopped by Whole Foods in the Haight, so she could get a fruit roll and an apple. I also bought her a tube of Arnica, a homeopathic pain-relief cream that might (I hope) help relieve some of her chronic ankle pain.
Once the race started, she fell into the stream of runners near the rear. She was easy to spot, in her yellow uniform wearing #13, as she was the only girl from her school competing at the 7th/8th grade level.
As she neared the halfway point in the race, she was limping noticeably and dead last among the 40 or so girls competing. I called out to her as she passed, asking whether she was okay and whether she wanted to quit, given how badly she obviously was feeling.
She didn't answer, but ran on.
Then, something remarkable began to happen. As I watched her as the group rounded the first quarter of the second lap, I noticed that she was starting to pass other runners. First one, then two, then five, then ten, and by the time she was approaching the finish line, by my count there were at least 16 girls behind her.
On the final stretch, she ran at a strong pace and came in as #20.
Her face was red and she was favoring her right ankle as we embraced and I gave her her water bottle.
"My goal was to finish twentieth and I did," she said.
Normally, you would never congratulate an athlete for finishing about halfway in a field, but on this day, I did.
This girl has guts, perseverance, and a competitive streak that allows her to overcome injuries and bad weather conditions. I look forward to seeing what she can do once she is healthy.
-30-
p.s. I accidentally destroyed my digital photos of today's race, darn it.
1 comment:
Sorry about the photos- but you words created images in my mind...I was standing there cheering as she blew in 20th!! What a GRAND achievement- BRAVO!!!
Love your children and their stamina and their GREAT attitudes!!
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