Track and field is not about running.
It’s all about performance, cunning and stunning.
Whether that be a thrower’s strength
Or the advantage of a hurdler’s leg length.
Perhaps the faith of a jumper in the air and flying
Or maybe the speed of a sprinter that seems undying.
Sometimes it takes a distance runner’s intuition.
But no matter what, it’s all about conviction.
We cannot forget why we volunteered for pain,
For tough workouts, and practice in the rain.
Just think back to a memory or two
And know that we are many of a few.
A group that makes torture an art
Requiring endless spirit and a strong heart.
But we cannot forget to have fun
Despite the deafening starter’s gun.
Looking back I recall a certain race
Of great success and speedy pace.
My last high school race at the state meet
And afterwards I could barely stand on my feet.
As I was walking off the track with a friend of mine
I remember him saying this exact line:
“I think I peed myself a bit in the last 100 meters, whew!”
To which I laughed at him and confessed, “Me too.”
I will never forget the friends I’ve made,
Even sprinters, I’m afraid.
Because the sport yields a strange atrocity:
A distance runner and sprinter animosity.
Let’s start with distance runners and their mocks
Of sprinters and their “silly blocks.”
But they will never understand a sprinter’s ways,
The term “fly zone” or “drive phase.”
Okay, so maybe sprinters will never know
The importance of each pre-race ritual.
And they might never know the name
But we both share a common goal:
To give it our all no matter the toll.
So let’s set aside our differences and join
Doing our very best using every last coin.
Because a runner is a miser,
Competing to see who is the wiser,
Both physically and mentally,
Constantly wanting to know how much has been spent,
The cost and timely extent,
Wanting to give up the very last dime
At the precise and perfect time.
I am a runner, plain and true.
Hills and mud, I struggle through.
Rain and snow won’t keep me in,
And when I race, I race to win.
When that finish line is in sight,
I start to kick with all my might.
Because whether I win the race or not.
All it takes is all you’ve got.
So before you step up to the starting line
Keep one simple phrase in mind:
If you are going to push yourself to the limit,
Then you’ve gotta risk it to get the biscuit.
(creds to therunninglifechoseme for a good portion of this)
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