Dad said. “Up this hill.”
A large group of parents and others were at the side of the path atop the hill. Soon Ben could see Devin and one other runner climbing the other side.
“Go, Devin!” Ben’s father called. “Relax and work this hill.”
Two other runners followed closely behind, and then came five more tightly bunched, including another of Larry’s Lincoln teammates.
“Where’s Larry?” Ben asked as several seconds passed.
And then he saw him. He’d moved into twelfth, but a huge pack of runners was just behind him.
“Come on, Larry!” Mom called.
“Top ten is right here,” Dad shouted, pointing toward the pack.
All of the runners were breathing hard and struggling as they climbed the steep hill. They were almost to the midway point of the race.Ben watched in awe as the runners powered past him, their legs dotted with mud and their arms pumping hard.
After Larry passed, Ben and his parents moved quickly back to the field. The race course was two large laps, so the runners would be covering the same path again.
Ben made circles with his thumbs and first fingers, holding them up to his eyes like binoculars. He kept his focus on Larry, who was moving closer to the pack as they ran on flatter ground.
After Larry entered the woods, Ben turned and ran to the top of the hill again. It was only a minute or so before Devin appeared, with that same runner right on his shoulder.
The other runners had spread out a bit, coming up the hill alone or in pairs. The second runner from Larry’s team was in sixth.Every couple of seconds another runner came into view. And then there was Larry, in tenth.
“Yeah!” Ben shouted. “Looking great!”
But Larry’s arms were close to his sides now and his mouth was twisted in pain.
“Don’t think about it!” Ben shouted. “Just sprint up that hill!”
Larry seemed to relax his shoulders a bit. He leaned forward slightly and moved closer to the next runner.
“All that hard work,” Ben said, shaking a fist at Larry. “Make it pay off.”
Larry nodded to Ben as he ran past. As he reached the top of the hill, Larry began swinging his arms again. He opened up his stride as he moved downhill, and within a few seconds he had moved ahead of his opponent.
Ben hurried partway down the side of the hill so he could see the finish line. Larrywas in ninth place and he had about 200 meters left to run. The eighth-place runner was a few yards ahead, and Larry was gaining on him.
They both were sprinting now, but Larry looked stronger. He surged ahead in the last few meters and crossed the finish line in eighth.
That took guts!
Ben thought.
Ben ran across the field and joined Larry and his teammates. Larry had his hands on his knees and his legs were shaking a little, but he had a big smile, too. “Looks like we won it, knucklehead,” he said, punching Ben lightly on the arm.
“You were awesome,” Ben said. “That hill was a killer.”
Ben looked at Devin, who had put his sweatsuit back on and was already jogging. “Did he win?” Ben asked.
“Yeah,” Larry said. “We got first, sixth, and eighth, and I think we had two others in the top fifteen. No way any other team could beat that.”
Ben was surprised how exciting the race had been. And how hard they’d run.
“Too bad soccer and cross-country are in the same season,” he said. “That looked like fun.”
Larry laughed. “I wouldn’t exactly call it fun,” he said. “There’s nothing fun about sprinting up a hill when your legs have turned to butter. But yeah, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
CHAPTER NINE
Too Much Thinking
“This is a big test today,” Ben said to Kim as they approached the field for their next game. “We haven’t played two good games in a row yet.”
“We will,” Kim said. “We’ve improved a ton.”
“That’s what we thought a few weeks ago,” Ben said, shaking his head. But he was feeling good about the Bobcats’ chances. And he was very
A large group of parents and others were at the side of the path atop the hill. Soon Ben could see Devin and one other runner climbing the other side.
“Go, Devin!” Ben’s father called. “Relax and work this hill.”
Two other runners followed closely behind, and then came five more tightly bunched, including another of Larry’s Lincoln teammates.
“Where’s Larry?” Ben asked as several seconds passed.
And then he saw him. He’d moved into twelfth, but a huge pack of runners was just behind him.
“Come on, Larry!” Mom called.
“Top ten is right here,” Dad shouted, pointing toward the pack.
All of the runners were breathing hard and struggling as they climbed the steep hill. They were almost to the midway point of the race.Ben watched in awe as the runners powered past him, their legs dotted with mud and their arms pumping hard.
After Larry passed, Ben and his parents moved quickly back to the field. The race course was two large laps, so the runners would be covering the same path again.
Ben made circles with his thumbs and first fingers, holding them up to his eyes like binoculars. He kept his focus on Larry, who was moving closer to the pack as they ran on flatter ground.
After Larry entered the woods, Ben turned and ran to the top of the hill again. It was only a minute or so before Devin appeared, with that same runner right on his shoulder.
The other runners had spread out a bit, coming up the hill alone or in pairs. The second runner from Larry’s team was in sixth.Every couple of seconds another runner came into view. And then there was Larry, in tenth.
“Yeah!” Ben shouted. “Looking great!”
But Larry’s arms were close to his sides now and his mouth was twisted in pain.
“Don’t think about it!” Ben shouted. “Just sprint up that hill!”
Larry seemed to relax his shoulders a bit. He leaned forward slightly and moved closer to the next runner.
“All that hard work,” Ben said, shaking a fist at Larry. “Make it pay off.”
Larry nodded to Ben as he ran past. As he reached the top of the hill, Larry began swinging his arms again. He opened up his stride as he moved downhill, and within a few seconds he had moved ahead of his opponent.
Ben hurried partway down the side of the hill so he could see the finish line. Larrywas in ninth place and he had about 200 meters left to run. The eighth-place runner was a few yards ahead, and Larry was gaining on him.
They both were sprinting now, but Larry looked stronger. He surged ahead in the last few meters and crossed the finish line in eighth.
That took guts!
Ben thought.
Ben ran across the field and joined Larry and his teammates. Larry had his hands on his knees and his legs were shaking a little, but he had a big smile, too. “Looks like we won it, knucklehead,” he said, punching Ben lightly on the arm.
“You were awesome,” Ben said. “That hill was a killer.”
Ben looked at Devin, who had put his sweatsuit back on and was already jogging. “Did he win?” Ben asked.
“Yeah,” Larry said. “We got first, sixth, and eighth, and I think we had two others in the top fifteen. No way any other team could beat that.”
Ben was surprised how exciting the race had been. And how hard they’d run.
“Too bad soccer and cross-country are in the same season,” he said. “That looked like fun.”
Larry laughed. “I wouldn’t exactly call it fun,” he said. “There’s nothing fun about sprinting up a hill when your legs have turned to butter. But yeah, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
CHAPTER NINE
Too Much Thinking
“This is a big test today,” Ben said to Kim as they approached the field for their next game. “We haven’t played two good games in a row yet.”
“We will,” Kim said. “We’ve improved a ton.”
“That’s what we thought a few weeks ago,” Ben said, shaking his head. But he was feeling good about the Bobcats’ chances. And he was very
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