Matt’s Story: Struggle, Progress, and Victory
We all have a story.
A life story is the assimilation of thousands of stories. Some of which are isomorphic of our story as a whole. The story of my race at state championship senior year in high school is one of those isomorphic stories. It contains struggle, hardship, progress, and victory.
I had worked exceptionally hard throughout all of high school with the goal of making all-state my senior year in cross country. All-State is only awarded to the top 25 individual finishers in the state open. The state open is race where the top teams and individuals from each state class compete.
The gun went off with a piercing bang that rang violently through my ears. Immediately, I went off into a fast pace to get a good position. The pack of nearly two hundred runners blazed through the grass like a wild stampede. After about one hundred meters or so the pace shifted to the normal race pace, and people began to change positions. I focused on remaining calm. I wanted to go out faster, but I knew it was best that I stay relaxed. Before long we were approaching a gradual downhill and the one mile marker. I shifted into the next gear and began working harder to move up in the over-sized pack. The pain was beginning to set in, but it wasn’t severe yet. I began to have negative thoughts rush into my head, yet I stayed positive. I went through the mile mark slower and much further in the pack than expected. My coach told me to relax and slowly work up.
As my coach was cheering for me, the first uphill on the course quickly began. Negative thoughts rushed my mind, this time getting the best of me. I began to doubt whether I could move up enough to have the race that I have longed for. Flashbacks were going through my head, of all the track workouts and other struggles that I had been through in the past year. I began to silently pray for the strength to carry on. I didn’t make any big moves, but I stayed solid, and gradually moved up towards the middle of the pack. At the mile and a half mark (which was the half way point in the race) horrible exhaustion began to set in. My legs felt like I was running through wet concrete, and I began to think that my dreams were going to cave in, as a teammate yelled to me that I was in 60th place. Tears of sorrow began to flood my eyes. I looked up eight hundred meters ahead of me and saw the two mile marker hill known as the “green monster.” I wanted to quit so badly; my legs felt like they couldn’t go on. For the past four years I had been dreaming of finishing in the top twenty five, and there I was not even in the top fifty and the race was already half over. As I approached the hill the tears subsided and a new attitude swept through me. I had a burst of courage, and decided that I still wanted to do the best that I could.
The “green monster,” a four hundred meter long hill, had finally arrived. A new sense of courage had overwhelmed me as I began to go up the hill. Many runners began to fall apart as they let their mind defeat them, while I fought through the agony and moved up steadily. The top of the hill is a little over the two mile marker in the race, and there is only 1.1 miles left in the race at that point. I had moved up rapidly on the uphill, but I still wasn’t close to being in the top twenty five. I continued to focus on working hard, and swept up places very quickly. I worked the downhill and despite the pain, was able to soar through the pack. Entering onto the final stretch of the race lactic acid filled my legs, making them feel worse than they ever have. My Economics teacher was at the 400 meter to-go point of the race. I looked at him, and he shouted at me telling me that I was in thirty-second place. I wasn’t a kicker. For a few seconds I gave up and slowed down. Then something changed. I began think of the struggle and progress within the past year. Lying in bed hopeless in psychiatric hospital, believing there was no reason to live outside of a sense of relief that only drugs and alcohol could provide, then finding God and hope in a drug and alcohol treatment center, forming intimate and authentic relationships with friends and family. This brief flashback like experience changed the way my mind and body felt. My dream that had just died had risen from the dead. I began to kick faster than I have ever run before. Tears of joy filled my eyes as I moved quickly through the thinning pack. With one hundred meters to go, the final short hill stood firmly. I put my jaw down and relaxed and kicked hard. Despite my legs feeling so unpleasant, I felt the best that I ever had. I crossed the finish line with power and then nearly collapsed. The official handed me a card with my place on it. I crinkled it up in my hand, and walked out the finish area. The card which had been saturated in my sweat read “16th.” I was appointed to the All-State team.
–Matt
About Me
I am 21 years old. I was born and raised in Connecticut, but I now call Arkansas home, and have lived in Searcy since the summer of 2007. I am currently a undergraduate student at Harding University double majoring Psychology and Leadership and Ministry. I am enjoying being a student in my last year of undergraduate study this year.
I would love the opportunity to speak at devo’s, functions, meetings, and church services. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any interest.
My passions include: duck hunting, rock climbing, camping, caving, hiking, and conversations. What are your passions?
Check out my blog at http://mattfahey.wordpress.com
About Steve Austin
