𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟏𝟒

𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆

     "𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, everyone line up!" the coach shouts after blowing her whistle. With that direction, Noah walks to the white line on the soccer field and stands at the end. "We have four teams that you can be eligible to join. There's our freshman team, our Junior Varsity team, and the Varsity A and B teams."

"Good luck," a voice quietly says as Noah feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns and sees Jess' friend, Casey.

"Thanks," Noah replies with a smile.

She turns back to pay attention to the coach and listens to her instructions. She lines up with the rest of the girls in alphabetical order. The first distance they're running is the 100-meter dash. The coach explains that they will all be timed and she will determine with the assistant coaches who should try the 200-meter after.

Noah watches the first few groups of people go. When it's her turn, she stands at the start line of the fifth lane. She bends down and waits for the whistle to start. Her heart pounds nervously, but no one around her would know. And when the loud whistle sounds, she takes off with light feet.

She runs ahead of a few of the girls and doesn't stop until she gets to the finish. She slows down to a walk and heads over to the other girls who have already gone. A few more groups go and the coaches take a few minutes to discuss.

"Alright, girls," the coach announces as she gathers all the tryouts. "If you hear your name, we're gonna ask you to try out for the 200-meter."

Noah stands around as they go in alphabetical order. She is shocked as she hears her name, not expecting to be chosen for another sprint event. She lines up again while the coach calls out the boys' names.

They go through the same process again and Noah waits to be called up for the 800-meter, which is much more in her wheelhouse. As she waits, she stretches her legs and takes deep breaths. Casey told her earlier in the week that if she doesn't take time to relax, she'll crumble by the time they get to the mile.

The coaches quietly talk to each other after each group finishes. They are trying to find the new standouts and Noah knows it. She watches them through the corner of her eyes. They allow a short break before they start the longer-distance races. Noah stands off to the side, not wanting anything to distract her. She drinks water and takes deep breaths, building her energy back up.

The coaches let people decide if they want to run the longer races. Noah lines up for the mile race, knowing that this is where she might be able to stand out. She sits down as some of the tryouts run the 800-meter. When it's almost time to run the mile, she stands up and starts warming her body up to be energized.

The girls eventually line up and Noah puts herself in the middle, not knowing how good she'll be compared to them. When the whistle blows, she starts at an easy pace. Even with that, after the first lap, she realizes she's running faster than all of them.

Noah keeps her pace, beginning her sprint when she starts the last lap. She pushes herself, harder than she did in any of her practices. She flies around the track, the curves not slowing her down one bit. And when she rounds to the second straight shot, she picks up speed again, racing until the last step across the finish line.

Noah slows to a walk and her chest puffs up and down. She turns to look at the coaches as she walks towards the grass. The coaches all look at the time they've written down for Noah, the head coach looking up to see Noah standing in the grass.