The start...

You get to the check-in, tell them your name, get your lane number, then go off to warm up. You end up meeting others who are doing the same event. You say hello, then trade tips on training and diets and such. Just to keep it interesting and clear the tension in the air. You meet some that are faster, which never helps ease you nervousness. As time pass you see other athletes returning from their events, gasping for air, scrambling for water. Some happy, others angry at themselves, while many don't seem to care whether they did bad or good. Which angers you, and raises the question "why run track if you're not gonna take it seriously?", that rests on your mind for quite awhile. 

    One of the coaches walks up to your group and starts to line you all up into sections. He gives you the briefing on the event you're about to run. You look around at your competition, you see others just as nervous as you are. You shake hands with them, wishing them good luck, When you section is called, you start to walk on that track...there's no turning back...

    You enter your lane, look at your opponents one last time, then the coach tells you to get to your starting line in the lane that you're in, so you do so. As you are walking to that line you can hear people cheering and chanting your name over and over again as you're setting up your blocks. The coach bellows out "QUIET AT THE START!". Then the whole stadium quiets down to a small whisper...then dead silent. You get fearful, then sweaty at the palms. You feel all the eyes staring at you, all the anticipation, and expectation of the crowd hanging it the air. Then those words that rings in every sprinters mind. "Runners to your mark!" Once you hear that, you take your position, then wait, you relax, breath, calm yourself. "Get SET!", you muscles tense up, you raise you rear-end ready to spring. Then an eerie quietness all sprinters know......."BOOM!!!" The race has started. 

    At first you panic, the gun fire startles you, but that's the point. You begin to sprint the few hundred meters, some athletes pass you up, others hold off till the end. You reach the first 100 meter passing point. Then you have that floating point where your muscles relax at. All you hear are the distant screams, the breathing of the other racers, then footsteps. 200 meters has just been reached, you begin to go all out, there's no stopping you now. You see your teammates clapping at you, telling to push, screaming encouragement, then the last stretch. Everything is slow motion, you push your body to the last ounce of energy that you have left. "pant, pant" you muscles want to give out, but you push yourself, everybody screams mingle in the crowd, it becomes impossible to tell who's cheering for who. You're in the front of the pack now, but that don't mean relax. As you run you can feel the vibration on the ground as the other athletes run behind you. Then there's the timer. It reads 49.65 and you blink then it says 50.10. You push harder, then the there's a guy gaining on you, the crowd screams louder. Your muscles are about to fall out, but you push and push. The other guy's still gaining on you, you run harder. The finish line is right in front of you, you lean for the photo-finish. You pass the finish line, your muscles rejoice when you come to a stop. 

    After running a quarter mile your mind begins to play tricks on you, then the fatigue sets in. You stumble off the track to get your things, then head over to your teammates. You shake hands with the other racers in your section congratulating those who beat their own personal records, or others just for trying. On the way back to your seat with your other teammates, you listen out for your results, nothing yet. You sit down with the others, they congratulate you on your sprint, you're still dizzy so you shake their hands blearily then sit down. They offer a drink, you thank them, take a sip then wait.

    As time pass, you see your other teammates run their events, they come over to where you are, you congratulate them, offer some water, and they wait for their results. This cycle continues for about two hours, you get anxious and eager for your results. Your teammates and coach notices, they tell you to calm down, but it's futile. Then you hear the announcer call out your event "400 meter winners!" Then your heart rate intensifies. The whole stadium quiets down to hear the results. You know that you made the top two, mainly because you were in the front, but the guy who caught up to you was the man you were worried about. Third place was called, it wasn't you or the other guy, so you were fine. Then second place was called, you couldn't hear it because your teammates were talking about something useless and trying to be louder than the speakers. So you're still waiting for your results. "First Place goes to...." the other name was called. You didn't win the race, you lost by a toe is what you are thinking. At this your feelings drop. 

    When you go up to get your medal the announcer comes on the intercom again, you think it's another event call for the results, but it was talking about a mistake. You ignore it and continue on to get you silver medal. Once you're up at the result center, you see the guy who got bronze, you give him a handshake and a congratulation.You step up to get yours, you state your name. The person gives you the gold medal. You take it confused. You ask "why am I getting the gold? The results say that I came in second." the person replies, "there was a mistake, you leaned and that's what won the race." You look at her with the greatest confusion, then admiration. You hold the gold metal in your hand, still in shock. Then you look up and see the guy you beat, he seemed a little upset, but at the same time shakes your hand, congratulates you on your win, true sportsmanship. Then you place the medal around your neck, you feel proud. You walk back to your teammates, they all seemed surprised, so you explain what happened. They all get happy and congratulate you, then sit down, You join them, and enjoy the rest of the track meet.