Do You Run?

The following was written in response to this week's Red Writing Hood writing prompt from the Write on Edge blog. It is also inspired by one of the characters in what I THINK is going to be the novel I am working on for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month aka NOVEMBER). Here's the prompt:

Some people consider themselves athletes. Others do not.  Write a piece of fiction or creative non-fiction in which athleticism features prominently... Let’s try 400 words or less, please.

Have you ever run before? I mean, I hope as a kid you did, I think as kids we all ran all over the place for no reason, but I mean now... now that we're old enough that we have to have a reason? Have you run since then?

I hope so.

As far as I'm concerned it's just about the only place I feel truly free. I feel the wind on my face, the ground beneath my feet and I hear... nothing. I'm not saying that I go deaf or anything crazy like that, I just mean that the sounds don't really count, they don't sink in. There are no distractions.

That's why I joined track. It was a no-brainer for me, really. I'm a runner. I'll join track. Duh.

But not everyone's there for the same reason. Some are all about scholarship money, some are doing whatever their parents tell them to do, and others are on the team because it's what's hot right now. (We've kind of been kicking ass for the last couple of years, if you didn't already know!) There's one other kid on the team who I would consider a runner, like me, but we never talk.

I think I know him pretty well without even talking . He's quiet, but he's got a lot to say. He's not "cool," but that stuff doesn't matter to him. He looks like he's always relaxing, but he's not lazy.

I know these things because he's a runner. He runs, so he thinks. Since he is a serious runner (I've seen him running before school even on days we have practice!) he is confident. A lazy person doesn't run like him.

I didn't mean to write so much about him, but I just get mad that he doesn't get the respect he deserves on the team. I get mad that some of the kids think they're better than him. I hate the judgement...

Anyway, the point is running, as in running for real, is not easy, but it is AWESOME. I hope you run. If you need a reason (which I guess we do now that we're teenagers), let it be that running can make you happy. Don't do it for your parents, for a scholarship, or just because I said so - remember running, remember the fun of it. It's still that awesome!

Got to go run! :)

~B