Just Go!

Photo taken by Brian Yee

As I warmed up with the girls, the tingling in my foot grew into a sharp sting. “Sara, it’s really starting to hurt,” I confided in my teammate. I continued to jog, wondering if I would actually race that day. “Maybe you shouldn’t run,” she suggested. I knew that was an option, but it was certainly not one that I was leaning towards. “You know what?” Sara continued, “Just scream out during the race if you’re in pain, and I’ll turn around to help you.”

“No!” Tamara’s voice broke in, “You are never supposed to do that.” I knew she was right. I learned this early on in my track career. During the cross-country championship in my freshman year of high school, I had a friend who was experiencing severe stomach pains during the competition. She was bent over, clutching tightly to her stomach, as if she were about to collapse at any moment. As she slowed down, I slowed down with her, but her reaction was rather unexpected. “Are you kidding?” she cried as she looked up at me, “Just go! Goooo!” Confused at first, I finally sped up, running past her through the steep hills of the concrete course.

At the time, the concept of abandoning a teammate was quite foreign to me. I was sure that Sara must have been just as bewildered to learn of this code. “Don’t worry,” I assured her, “It’s really important that you finish your race.” While the idea of leaving behind a teammate once seemed unethical, I now realize that in the competitive world of running, it’s not always wrong to go ahead.