Trial by running

The ground was wet and the weather cool. But inside, the fire was burning.

It all came together on Saturday morning. Despite the rainy start to the day, it eventually cleared up and the boys all headed out to the beach to run. It wasn’t really a race, but there was much at stake as the school was conducting a trial to determine who would make it to the next round.

I told Nigel it was do or die. It was the run of his life and was, in some ways, even more important than the national competitions he took part in. How well, fast, he ran, would determine his ability to enter the school of his choice and have a better shot at academic as well as sporting success.

So he hit the gas, took off flying and paced, gathered speed and come down the home stretch at full speed. With only one other runner in front of him (in his batch), he had to make a real dash for it and even though he didn’t overtake the boy, he gave it his best shot and told me after that he felt like giving up, which he was glad he didn’t.

Feeling and deciding are two different things. He decided to counter-intuitively hit the gas, instead of slowing down to rest, which I am proud of.

Now we just have to wait for that call.