Pedro’s Record

Pedro discovered that he loved running when he was ten years old.

At school, students had a test where they had to run 400 meters as fast as they could. He knew it was unusual to enjoy it as much as he did because some of the other kids complained every time the test came up, but Pedro loved it.

Once a month, he would ask his PE teacher if they could do the test again.

His friends saw how much he enjoyed running and encouraged him to join a running team.

And so he joined the team and started going to practice.

At the beginning, he was the slowest one on the team. But practice after practice, he became better.

A year later, he became one of the best on his team.

Three times a week, he would go to training. When he came home, he would tell Mom how it went with a big smile on his face.

By the age of fifteen, he had started seriously considering running professionally.

One day, his coach came up to him and said,

“Pedro, come here. I need to tell you something.

“In six months, there will be a competition called ‘Outrun the Horses.’ The first three finishers will get a chance to join a professional team.”

As soon as Pedro heard this, he knew he had to participate.

From that day on, it became his obsession.

During class, he would plan how he was going to train at home. During training, his clothes would be soaked through with sweat. After training, he would take extra time to stretch.

For six months, all he could think about was the competition.

He trained with his team and his coach, but he also trained at home, running around the block every day except Sunday, which he kept as a recovery day.

He even put up a huge poster on his wall that said:

“OUTRUN THE HORSES.”

When there was one month left until the competition, he drew a grid of thirty squares in his notebook. Every day, he crossed out one square.

And then the day of the competition finally came.

Pedro and his parents drove for two hours to get there. His coach was there too.

A lot of people had come to watch, and there were twenty other contestants, all the same age.

Pedro ate a banana, warmed up, put on his best running shoes, and took his place at the starting line.

He was ready to do what he had been preparing for over the past six months. Now was the time to show what he was capable of and, hopefully, win a place on the professional team.

He had never felt as ready for anything in his entire life as he did for this race.

And then came the countdown.

“Ready. Set. Go!”

And he ran.

He ran better than ever before.

He ran and ran.

It felt as if his feet were spinning the earth beneath him, as if he had been made to do this one thing: run.

Every movement felt perfect: his breathing, his posture, his effort.

Ten meters left.

Five.

Three.

Two.

The finish line.

He crossed it.

Breathing heavily, he walked over to his coach and asked,

“So, what place did I get?”

The coach looked at him and said,

“Fifth. Well done, Pedro. You beat your personal record by fifteen seconds.”

Pedro could not make a sound.

Fifth place.

He thought about all the preparation, all the running, the discipline, the effort, and how well he had run.

All of it.

And for what?

Fifth place.

Fifth place was not enough to get onto the professional team.

The realization hit him, and tears began to run down his cheeks.

He ran to his parents.

“We’re so proud of you, Pedro,” they said. “Why are you crying?”

“I have a new personal best time, but I still got fifth place,” he said. “Fifth. Fifth place. All that training for nothing.”

Dad knelt down in front of Pedro and said,

“Champ, think about how much better you became over these six months. Think about all the discipline and effort you put in. You beat your previous personal record, and nobody can take that away from you.

“I believe the future will give you more opportunities, and because you went through all of this, you will be ready when they come.

“If you had never signed up for this race, you would still be the same Pedro with the same personal record you had six months ago.”

“But Dad, this race will never happen again. I lost. I lost this race. How do I know I’ll ever get an opportunity like this again?”

“You don’t know,” Dad said. “You just have to believe that when you give it your best effort, another opportunity will come.

“And think about the alternative. Never train. Never give it your all. Never risk losing. And then you would definitely never win.

“Where would that get you?”

Dad smiled.

“So, will you go for a run with me tomorrow morning?”

Pedro wiped his eyes.

“I will, Dad.”