Personal Narrative: Pain Is Temporary By Roger Bannister
“Set….” there was a long pause, I felt a cold breeze of air whisk past my hair. The time for fun and game was over., Iit was time to get serious. I heard the a loud BANG! As I got into my running, emotions filled my body, I knew that it was time to give it my all. As I approached the first 100 meters of the race, I was at the back of the field, it was at this precise moment that Roger Bannister’s famous words “Pain is temporary” resonated in my mind. I began to pick it up by the 200 meter mark, I was representing my team, I can’t lose. By the 300 meter mark, I began to pass people, from a spectator’s view, it was like watching a rabbit destroy a field of tall, black bears. As I approached the line, I blacked out. It all began on a cold, chilly, October night, I received a message on my email from my counselor regarding sports registration, as I scrolled through the endless list of sports to enroll in, none seemed to peak my interest, until I came upon that sport, track and field.. So, I signed up. I will never forget the day I walked into that cold, empty
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hallway. Glowing red eyes stared at me as I approached the tall, muscular figure. The moment I heard the figure speak, it felt as if the hallway burst into bright, scintillating colors. His voice made me feel that joining track was the right thing to do.
Midway into the season, the once, quiet bundle of talent had evolved into blazing spirit full of spirit, energy and endless talent. As each practice went by, my confidence as a runner grew. People began to acknowledge me, I felt that I was special, in sports like swimming and singing, I had never felt like this before. One day in May, my coach called for a meeting. It was regarding the sectional roster, nervousness filled my body, I had my doubts going into the meeting. As he clicked his mouse to pull up the document with the information, I felt butterflies in my stomach, for the first time in my life, I was scared of something that I worked hard for. The roster finally popped up, I began searching for my name, looking at each and every name, when I found my name, I was shocked, joy filled my heart.
May 26th, of 2015, the day that I had been excited, and nervous for. It was the day that the top elites of the team would compete against the other elites from other schools, the sectional meet. Although, I knew that I had the ability to win the event that I was chosen to run in, deep down, I still had my doubts. It was a warm, bright day, it seemed to reflect the way I felt on the first day of track, this small ball of seemingly endless darkness, had evolved into a ball of happy-go sunshine. As the official placed each runner on the line, I felt my heartbeat skyrocket.Such feelings had never filled this tiny body of mine. As I got into my starting position, I realized that no longer was this a mere meeting of athletes, it was a state meeting of giants. It was finally time to act. No more dilly dallying. I was as serious as a shark as it catches its prey, I was the shark, and my prey would be the other athletes.
A familiar scene presented itself to me, “Set….” BANG! As I left my blocks, emotions of grief and anguish subsided. The hardships endured in practice have been leading up to this moment, I was no longer afraid to let myself go the extra mile. There was no need to be holding back anything. WAs I approached the 200 meter mark, I was in the middle of the field, I realized that winning this race would be no walk in the park; it would as difficult as winning 19 Olympic golds. As the 300 meter mark came, I saw the runner in front began to lose form. This was the time to strike down the prey and win. ApproachingAs I approached the finish line, I began to extend my legs further and pump my arms as fast as an engine. As I leaned forward, I collapsed on the track. I then heard the announcer say, “ In first place, with a time of 53.02 is ….” I heard my name, and heard the crowd erupted in cheers. Never before in my life, had I ever felt so good .in my life, iIt was like getting an “A” in an AP course.
It felt rewarding knowing that everything before this, was building up to this point, but I knew it was not over., Tthere was still much more ahead. As I exited the chute, my coach with a great, big smile, shook my hand and said, “Meet by meet, you look more like an athlete to me, you’re a good man.” I smiled and went to the bleachers where my team was sitting, they congratulated me, I felt so happy because not only did I represent the South, I made my coach and teammates proud., Tit was a day of unrivaled proportions. Words cannotI couldn’t even describe how good I felt. I felt like the happiest man in the world. Through the beautiful sport that is track and field, I learned that through the hardships endured through practice, no matter how much is endured, that you should always give it your
all.
hallway. Glowing red eyes stared at me as I approached the tall, muscular figure. The moment I heard the figure speak, it felt as if the hallway burst into bright, scintillating colors. His voice made me feel that joining track was the right thing to do.
Midway into the season, the once, quiet bundle of talent had evolved into blazing spirit full of spirit, energy and endless talent. As each practice went by, my confidence as a runner grew. People began to acknowledge me, I felt that I was special, in sports like swimming and singing, I had never felt like this before. One day in May, my coach called for a meeting. It was regarding the sectional roster, nervousness filled my body, I had my doubts going into the meeting. As he clicked his mouse to pull up the document with the information, I felt butterflies in my stomach, for the first time in my life, I was scared of something that I worked hard for. The roster finally popped up, I began searching for my name, looking at each and every name, when I found my name, I was shocked, joy filled my heart.
May 26th, of 2015, the day that I had been excited, and nervous for. It was the day that the top elites of the team would compete against the other elites from other schools, the sectional meet. Although, I knew that I had the ability to win the event that I was chosen to run in, deep down, I still had my doubts. It was a warm, bright day, it seemed to reflect the way I felt on the first day of track, this small ball of seemingly endless darkness, had evolved into a ball of happy-go sunshine. As the official placed each runner on the line, I felt my heartbeat skyrocket.Such feelings had never filled this tiny body of mine. As I got into my starting position, I realized that no longer was this a mere meeting of athletes, it was a state meeting of giants. It was finally time to act. No more dilly dallying. I was as serious as a shark as it catches its prey, I was the shark, and my prey would be the other athletes.
A familiar scene presented itself to me, “Set….” BANG! As I left my blocks, emotions of grief and anguish subsided. The hardships endured in practice have been leading up to this moment, I was no longer afraid to let myself go the extra mile. There was no need to be holding back anything. WAs I approached the 200 meter mark, I was in the middle of the field, I realized that winning this race would be no walk in the park; it would as difficult as winning 19 Olympic golds. As the 300 meter mark came, I saw the runner in front began to lose form. This was the time to strike down the prey and win. ApproachingAs I approached the finish line, I began to extend my legs further and pump my arms as fast as an engine. As I leaned forward, I collapsed on the track. I then heard the announcer say, “ In first place, with a time of 53.02 is ….” I heard my name, and heard the crowd erupted in cheers. Never before in my life, had I ever felt so good .in my life, iIt was like getting an “A” in an AP course.
It felt rewarding knowing that everything before this, was building up to this point, but I knew it was not over., Tthere was still much more ahead. As I exited the chute, my coach with a great, big smile, shook my hand and said, “Meet by meet, you look more like an athlete to me, you’re a good man.” I smiled and went to the bleachers where my team was sitting, they congratulated me, I felt so happy because not only did I represent the South, I made my coach and teammates proud., Tit was a day of unrivaled proportions. Words cannotI couldn’t even describe how good I felt. I felt like the happiest man in the world. Through the beautiful sport that is track and field, I learned that through the hardships endured through practice, no matter how much is endured, that you should always give it your
all.