Blood pounds.
Palms sweat.
Anxiety
poised in
Silence.
Then the gun sounds and
running breathing hard heart straining to escape
elbows pushing for space
frantically no one dares look back just go fast.

Next, strategy.
Remember to breath deep,
in through the nose,
out through the mouth.
Focus on form,
pass that girl ahead, pull
forward, painfully
inch by,
ignore internal protestations,
one foot in front of the other,
eyes looking for what cannot be seen.

Now the time comes.
Speed and finesse mesh
to reach
to push
lungs bursting
legs screaming
Body begs, “NO!”
But Mind is oddly calm.
The crowd fades to white noise
The clock ticks away time,
Time left alive.
Lengthen
the stride.
Stretch
the fingers.
Nothing can be closer,
yet so far.
And right when you want to
explode,
Relief
comes.
Finished.