The
True Challenge by Richie Kahan
My mind was clear. I couldn’t hear anything. I was ready. Today would be my day. BANG! The gun sounded. I was
off & out to the early lead. My form was perfect. I was running faster than ever before. I felt someone draw even w/me. I ran as fast as I could.
The crowd became excited as the finish line grew closer. It wasn’t even a photo finish. I had lost by a good stride & a half.
A mix of fans, friends & coaches praised him at the finish line. Scott was my best friend, but I wasn’t about to
include myself in the roll call.
After things calmed down, I walked over to him & said, "Good race man."
"You too," he replied.
I left the track feeling dejected. Driving
home, all I could think about was how hard I'd worked over the past 6 months. All the effort & determination earned me a second place finish. Redwood High, not being known for its track team, had no more than one track
star make it every year. Needless to say, second place just wasn’t good enough.
"Wassup?" my brother said as I got home.
"Hey Dan." I replied.
"How’d you do?"
"Second place," I mumbled under my breath.
"Scott?" he asked.
"Yeah." I replied while sighing.
"The season is barely half over. You’ll
beat him."
"I can’t! I can’t beat him!
I’ve been working at it since October. I’m at my peak. What more can I do?!" I dropped my stuff & went to
my room. Scott called me soon after.
"Rogers! We’re going to this party
out in the sticks. Wanna go?"
"Thanks Scott, but I got some stuff to
do. I’ll go out tomorrow night."
"WEAK! C’mon."
"Sorry man, it’s not happening.
I’ll talk to you tomorrow."
"Later"
I kinda wanted to go out, but I didn’t think I’d be great company. Plus, I didn’t want to hear all the guys talkin’ about Scott’s
triumph over me.
I went for a walk to clear my head. Walking thru the park, I heard, "Brian." From a dull but yet firm sounding voice.
It was getting dark & I couldn’t see too well. I walked towards the voice & saw a man sitting on a bench looking
at me.
"Hi Brian," he said w/a smile.
"Who are you?" I asked.
He looked away, then looked back & said, "I’m someone who can help you."
I got scared, not knowing who or what I was dealing with. "That’s okay. I’ve gotta go."
"Brian wait. I promise, I mean you no
harm. Just sit & listen to what I have to say."
He sounded sincere. "Alright."
I sat down at the other side of the bench.
"I saw your race today."
"I’m outta here." I quickly stood
up.
"You wanna beat Scott?" He raised his
voice. I sat back down.
"Good. I’ll continue. If you could
wish for anything, what would you wish for?" My eyes met his. I stared at him for a moment.
"Are you the kind of man who could grant
me this wish?" I inquired.
"Brian, all your life, you’ve wanted
to win. Be on top. Be a champion. The only thing standing in your way is Scott," he said in a mischievous tone of voice.
"Don’t even think of harming Scott!" I became enraged. "Scott is a good friend of mine. Besides, I’m not so selfish that I would end ones career in order
to further my own." He just sat there calmly.
"I didn’t say I was going to help
you eliminate the competition. I said beat the competition."
I became angry & felt that he was giving me false hope. "So what? I make this wish & then I have to give you my soul or something?"
"No Brian. I’m not the devil."
"Then what’s the catch? Why are
you doing this for me?"
"Because when I was a senior in high school, I was in your position. Unfortunately, the ‘Scott’ of my time made it & I didn’t. I want to see you make it."
"I don’t know," I whined with uncertainty.
"Listen. All you have to do is make the wish. If it turns out I’m crazy, you don’t get the wish. That’s
the worst that happens." The whole idea made me nervous. It made me feel like I was doing something illegal. I didn’t
know what to do.
The following Friday, our team hosted a meet against Terra Linda High. Almost everyone I knew was there. I was nervous,
more nervous than usual. The crowd began to quiet as the runners approached the starting line. Scott was in the lane next
to me. I took my position. The gun went up… BANG!
Scott jumped out in front, but I wasn’t far behind. I caught up to him, & continued to accelerate. I could
feel him running faster to keep me from taking the lead. He was breathing harder & harder.
I felt the finish line tape snap off my chest. As I came to a halt, I turned around to find on onslaught of people coming
my way. Everyone was patting me on the back & showering me with complements. I was overwhelmed with emotion. All the hard work & perseverance had paid off.
My coach hoisted me up above the crowd & informed me that I had broken Scott’s record by 5/10 of a second.
I looked into the stands & saw the man from the park. He was wearing all black w/a white tie. His arms folded & a
big smile on his face. In the back of my mind, I knew he was the reason I was on top, but I did my best to forget that.
Over the crowd & thru the people, I could see Scott hunched over, his hands on his knees, gasping for air. Our eyes
met & my smile faded. I knew how he felt. I'd been there, but I had no sympathy
for him. This was my day in the sun.
I finished the season strong, progressing w/each race. In the end, I was the one who made it. Although my performance
in the first half was "dismal," or so the scout said, my stellar finish was enough to earn a Track & Field scholarship to Stanford University.
I’ll always remember the day it turned for me. How good it felt to be on top. Scott & I were never as close after that day. I’d argue that he became bitter & he’d argue that I became arrogant. We lost touch completely after graduation.
I heard from a mutual friend that he was running for a small school back east somewhere. I thought about him frequently & I often questioned whether or not I’d ever see him again. As it turned out,
our paths would cross again, 3 years later in Florida.
The Olympic trials were being held in Orlando, Florida. I was the odds on favorite to win my heat & represent the
U.S. I hadn’t even begun to stretch when I saw Scott just across the way. I couldn’t believe it was he. I walked over.
"Scott!" I shouted in disbelief.
His head whipped around. "Brian!" He stood up & greeted me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I’m competing. Same as you," he replied.
"Hey that’s great. I’ll stick
around for your race."
A strange look came over his face. "Well I sure hope so. You’re in my heat."
My smile vanished w/out a trace. "You are?"
"Yep. Just found out a few minutes ago,"
he said.
"No. You can’t be. There’s
only one American in each race."
"There weren’t enough foreign athletes,
so they eliminated a heat & added one more runner to every other heat." Scott explained. "Listen. I gotta warm up, but I’ll talk to you later. Good seeing you again man."
"You too," I replied.
Having Scott there gave me an uneasy feeling. I wasn’t worried, but this was just the kind of thing that could mess up my concentration before a race.
I knew I could beat him. I had pounded him into oblivion the last 5 times I raced against him. I told my coach the story as
I stretched.
He told me to focus on the race & not to worry about Scott. It sounded trite, but it was good advice. I didn’t
give Scott another thought.
The gun went up…BANG! As the finish line grew close, I gave it all I had, not knowing if I were first or last.
I dipped my head forward as I crossed the finish line. I looked up at the place board. There was nothing posted. I listened for the times announced over the loud speaker.
"Brian Rogers ran the hundred yard dash in 9.91 seconds. A personal best for Brian Rogers."
The crowd went crazy! I went crazy! I jumped into the arms of my coach as I listened to the crowd chant, "U-S-A! U-S-A!" The arena was so loud that no one could hear the runners up. Then suddenly,
the noise came to a pause. The next thing I heard was…
"Once again, Scott Person ran the hundred yard dash in 9.78 seconds. Not only a personal best, but also a new world record!
Ladies & gentlemen, I’d like to introduce to you the world’s fastest man, Scott Person."
The stadium erupted. I'd never in my life heard the crowd sound like that. I watched Scott run back down the track pumping
his fists & waving to the crowd, as I stood there in disbelief.
I lost countless hours of sleep trying to figure out how this could have happened. Why everything went terribly wrong.
I was looking thru my high school yearbook late last night & I came across Scott’s senior quote.
"Adversity
causes some men to break; others to break records."
