by Dee Holder

Created on: March 17, 2010

Right now somewhere in the world a child steps outside of her home.  It does not matter that her parents are so poor she will have no dinner tonight.  It does not matter that her country is one of the poorest in the world, it does not matter that she has to walk almost an hour to get to school she has a dream that keeps her going.   As long as there is a place for her to run, even if she has to do it in her bare feet, that dream will one day take her to the other side of the planet in front of thousands of people in the stadium and millions of people watching from home through a television screen.

Another child also has a similar dream, this child has plenty of food and a safe and stable home.  He is driven to school in an expensive car and could do with his life whatever he wants.  But he too has a dream, and he knows that all his food, money and financial help will get him so far but when he sets foot on that track it will not matter that much, what will matter are the hours he spent training and yes his native raw talent.

The time they have worked so hard for has  finally come, they head towards the starting positions.  All of them knowing that all their hard work, all their sacrifices come down to this one moment in time.  In a few seconds it will all be over, they will either be victorious or they wont it is as simple as that.  The crowd goes quiet all the attention is on the race about to start. 

Some have followed this sport for years, going to meets that are local or international.  They know who to root for, they know who has a chance and who does not.  Others never really follow the sport, they don't know who is likely to win, they root for the person that comes from their home country, or for the name that is most famous. It really does not matter how much you know or how little, the excitement is the same, as is the anticipation.

The gun goes off, the athletes rush out of the starting blocks, only to be stopped a false start.  A collective sigh of millions of individuals rumbles around the world.  The tension is thicker now.  The athletes go back to the starting point.  The gun goes off and the athletes fly away.  People watch riveted at a level that is beyond intellectual.  There is something breathtaking and pure about those perfect bodies moving fluidly along the track.  It does not matter if you are a child or elderly, man or woman.  It does not

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