Run, run, run! Anonymous

Run, run, run! I Ignoring the fire in my limbs and the thunder in my chest, I forged ahead at a greater speed. I remember crumbling to my knees on grassy turf. I remember my friend, Simi, emerging from the shadows of the gazebo with a look of anguish etched into her features. And I remember, most vividly, the Red House Captain frowning over my prone form. “Not enough, Iman. You didn't push yourself.”

For two weeks the Captain's statement haunted me. I dwelt on her simple appraisal as I continued to prepare for the upcoming Inter-House Sports Competitions, albeit on the sidelines. I became furious with her judgement, not because it was ostensibly false but because it was true. Underneath my mother's insistence that I recover, underneath my friends’ declarations that the Captain had been too harsh, a voice insisted that I was yet to deliver my best. It had been my choice to represent my House in the Senior 1500m race, yet I hardly put in the practice on the field. I had natural talent, but my lack of commitment was grossly insufficient.

I returned alone to the field on a cool evening two weeks after the preliminaries. No-one was present in school at that time and so nothing could distract me from my personal determination of my...