It was the half way mark of the race, and he was close to last. So far this season the highest he ever finished was 19th.

He already felt tired, but still continued his same pace. Up head, at the next turn, was the coach.

“Come on Chris, beat that guy in front of you!” the coach shouted. It was a simple encouragement, but Chris realized
that yes, he could do that.

He picked up his pace and started to catch up with the runner in front of him. As he passed him, he saw there were a few more runners in front of him.

That shouldn’t be too hard, he thought, I can pass a couple more people.

As he passed those racers there was another group ahead of him. The next thing he realized was that he was passing the leaders on his team. They started to encourage him as he went by.

Then he entered the field where the finish line was. He sprinted, because now he didn’t want anyone to pass him. When he crossed the finish line, he placed 2nd overall, but had finished before anyone from the other team did.