By Denise Turney
Admittedly, it’s sprints like the 100 meter and 200 meter races that track and field spectators get the most excited to watch. Sprinters, including Olympic gladiators, put in grueling workouts under the watchful eye of an experienced coach. Although the races they run are short, over in a matter of seconds, they are explosive, demanding, exhilarating. Clearly, they deserve the hoopla and the celebrating they receive.
Middle Distance Olympic Track and Field Heroes
From Jesse Owens who sprinted at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin to Carl Lewis (both born in Alabama) who dominated sprints and the long jump during the 1980s to Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, shorter distances have long been amongst the most anticipated and talked about events in track and field. Yet, it’s middle distances that try women and men in ways sprints do not.
Middle distance races require strength, stamina, perfect pacing and a mental agility few practice. Start a quarter mile or half mile run too fast and you’re out of the winnings. Fail to run the backstretch with precision, your graceful form causing spectators to wonder if they’re watching a gazelle make its way across the ground, and there’s a strong chance that the other runners will catch you coming around the final turn.
In that regard middle distance races are akin to boxing matches. A second produces the same results that an hour does off the track. One mistake, however slight, can spell the end of a race a runner has prepared and trained for over the course of a year or longer. Too many mistakes and a middle distance runner may find herself labeled a “has been” and it all can happen in a matter of seconds.
Raymond Clarke Running for the Gold
No one knows this better than Raymond Clarke (the main character in my new novel Love Pour Over Me). Coach Carter, a seasoned track and field coach who works at a famous Pennsylvania university, is well aware of the impact time has on middle distance races. He also knows how to spot an Olympic champion and world class runner when he sees one, and it’s this he recognizes at once in Raymond.
It’s during the summer when Coach Carter tells Raymond about the upcoming track meet in Oregon. If Raymond wins he’ll make the Olympic team, a rare fete for a full-time college student. The Oregon invitational is the type of event Raymond has been striving to excel at for much of his young physical experience.
He knows crossing the finish line first will put him on par with great Olympic middle distance runners like Britain’s Sebastian Cole, Steve Ovett and New Zealand’s Peter Snell. It’s a mammoth challenge; Raymond is ready. Thanks to Coach Carter he’s learned how to seize the moment. He’s ready for the Olympics.
Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You!
Sources:
http://www.london2012.com (London 2012 Olympics)