The Race I Never Completed
Welcome Back To My Space!
Hello beautiful people! I hope you all are doing fine. It is mid week already, and I know that that would mean different things to different people.
Sports Day
For me, every mid week (Wednesday) is a time for sports in my school. Well, I mean as long as school is in session. It is always a refreshing time joining other teachers for various sports activities with the kids in our school.
Of course, each time we do that, I can't help but remember when I myself was a child in school, excitedly joining in the fun on sports day, with races, high jumps, long jumps, rope jumping and several other activities.
However, there is an incident I remember that happened when I was thirteen and by then I was in junior high school.
So, the secondary school I attended at that time was always the host to AAA competition, that is a competition organised by the Amateur Athletics Association. This competition usually would feature a lot of field events and track events, and of course a lot of training takes place before the week of the competition. Several other schools from our Local Government Area normally come to our school to participate in the week-long competition.
Due to some health issues I had at that time, my parents had submitted a health report from the doctor to my school, and because of that I was not allowed to participate in any strenuous activity whether for work or play. That meant I was only allowed to be a spectator during the trainings. Of course, that was not acceptable to me but there was no amount of pleading with my teachers that would make them go against the instructions they had received about my case.
Going For A Marathon
Then came the opportunity I was looking for. There was going to be a marathon, and that meant almost every one in my school was going to participate. I quickly merged into the crowd that was waiting for the marathon to begin though in the company of my friends. As the gun went off, so did every one of us.
It wasn't long before I began to feel tired, but I was determined to keep going since I could alternate between walking and jogging. Many of my friends that were serious about the race had to leave me behind, only two stayed with me, so we continued walking, talking and jogging. At that time, it was already clear we would not be able to join those that would represent our school.
After what seemed to be a very long while, I and my friends were considering whether to turn back and start returning when we heard a car horn coming from behind us. Looking back, we saw our school bus coming. I felt like hiding, but there was no hiding place.
The school bus came and stopped beside us. I can never forget the look and scolding I received from our sports master and the school matron that day. We were asked to enter the bus, and as we moved on some other students who were tired were picked up on the way, but non of them received the scolding I did. I kept praying that I wouldn't be taken to the principal's office because... it wouldn't have been funny.
By the time we drove back to school, the main Gs had already got back and we knew who and who would be representing the school when the main competition.
I quietly accepted the fact that I would not be representing my school for anything sports until my health improved. Funny enough, by the time my health became better, I decided to focus more and more on my studies, and I had more opportunities representing my school for academic competitions (Schools' Challenge, Science Quizzes, Writing Competitions etc). You just can't have them all, right.
Thank you for reading my post to this point. I can't wait to read what you think about it, so please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
This post is my entry for the Day 6 prompt from the #juneinleo calendar. You can join the challenge and write on the exciting topics available for this month. See this post here by @leogrowth for more details.
Image used is a free-to-use image from pixabay and has been sourced.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
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Yea, School days was awsum specially during the sport day practices.. we used to spend whole day in the ground to practice the race...
Oh yes! We were always looking forward to sports days, and the same this happens now with the kids I am teaching 😀.
Were you seriously about to run a marathon when you were 13? It's 42 kilometers, children don't run such long distance races.
I was thirteen, yes. The race I joined was in preparation for the main marathon which would take place on the same route. Whether the distance was up to 42km, I would never know.
All I know is that I sneaked into the midst of a crowd I shouldn't have joined with some of my friends, because we wanted to participate. That was very wrong of course considering that I was having health challenges at the time.
I am however grateful that I am alive to tell the story of my foolishness. 🤦♀️
Well. You could have quitted anytime along the route :)
Hmm... I only got to know that later. 😂😂😂.
You have shared a very interesting experience with us here friend. The most important thing is that you represented your school regardless, at least academically, even though you weren't opportuned to help the in the race.
Yes! I think I should console myself with that, hahaha. Initially, I wanted to be both here and there, but eventually focused on my studies. Thanks for your kind words.
An interesting story, it's good you were able to represent your school. You had a great experience.
In races? No, I didn't achieve my aim. But academically? Yes, I am glad I eventually got to represent my school. Thanks so much for your kind words.
Very interesting to read, funny at some point that I had to wear a smile.
The doctor's report didn't work against you joining the marathon, it was a divine opportunity to show yourself.
I'm happy you didn't fail yourself and make those two who waited for you feel disappointed.
Nice entry.
It's nice to hear that your school is still active when it comes to sports. What year are you in?
Currently, I am working in a private school (my own) and we have the Nursery section, primary and junior high school.
The race I talked about happened when I was 13, about 38 years ago when I had just entered junior high.
I hope I answered your question.
woah you've got your own school?
This is something I get so excited about, even when I am not feeling well. I thank God at the end you still had a chance to represent your school in other areas.
#dreemerforlife
Yes, I know that feeling of excitement when it comes to sports. Thanks for your warm comment and kind words.