Vincent had spent his whole life waiting for this one moment, and now, as he stood waiting to be called to the line he felt a sense of pride and eager anticipation at the journey that lay ahead.
He surveyed his fellow competitors,
‘they will be just as eager as I am to win this race,’ he thought as he watched them preparing themselves.
‘stay focused, stick to the plan,’ he repeated it over and over again.
Vincent knew that when the starters shot was fired there would be a mad dash for the lead, he would hang back so as not to get caught up in the initial scramble that was sure to ensue.
The first part of the race would be the toughest, a mad dash down the narrow shoot that sprayed competitors onto the course, followed by a long run on a mostly uphill course. Vincent knew that it wound around narrow tracks with several obstacles along the way and with so many competitors he felt sure at least a quarter of them will have dropped out or been injured by the time they reached the swim leg. This was Vincent’s strong point, he was a strong swimmer and knew that if he could stay out of the initial melee and stay in touch with the leaders he could make up many lengths during this leg. If things went to plan he would have a handy lead by the start of the third leg then it would be on his bike and away to the finish.
Vincent glanced around once more, trying to pick who his main competition would be, the guy next to him had a strong upper body,
‘strong swimmer,’ Vincent thought to himself, ‘ but he has no lower body strength,’ ‘won’t make it through the first stage,’ he conjectured and moved on.
The next guy looked like he had never had a decent meal, skinny and feeble looking
‘no stamina,’ Vincent almost laughed
‘too fat,’ ‘no chance,’ ‘danger,’ ‘one to watch’ Vincent continued summing up his opposition.
‘ready lads’ a voice interrupted Vincent’s thoughts
He felt it more then heard it, he was focused, ready for the race of his life.
The other competitors moved forward, standing shoulder to shoulder waiting for the starters orders. Vincent pulled to the outside of the pack and dropped back so as no to be trampled from behind, the other competitors huddled forward ready to explode into action. The time had come, the race they had all prepared for, there could be only one winner and no matter what it took Vincent knew that it would be his day.
Then suddenly “BANG” – everyone shot forward, there was a massive surge down the starting chute, several fell, or where pushed in a mad dash for the early lead.
As the first competitors spewed onto the course Vincent was happy to be back in last place, he had avoided the early panic and, as he passed the fallen, he felt pleased that he had summed things up so well.
It was very hot on the course, hot and humid, there was a lot of moisture in the air and the ground felt soft under foot, this would be the toughest part of the race.
‘conserve your energy, wait for the swim leg’ Vincent’s game plan ran through his mind again.
By half way through the first leg Vincent had made up many lengths and was now in the middle of the pack. The course ran through canyon like valleys with steep walls on either side, the moisture in the air had now turned to a drizzling rain and the road had become very slippery. Vincent passed several competitors sprawled out on the side of the road, their energy spent,
‘Losers’ he thought, with a sly smirk on his face.
It may not have been a kind thought but this was do or die, there would be no prize for second place and Vincent knew that everyone that dropped out was another he didn’t have to beat.
Vincent pressed on, maintaining his steady early pace, conserving energy. They were almost at the swim leg now and whilst they were still a fair way off Vincent had caught site of the leading pack,
‘this is going to be easier then I thought’ he surmised as he became the long uphill run that led to the waters edge.
Vincent felt strong, he had used up little energy in the initial stages of the race and was ready to take it to the next level,
‘time to make my move’ he decided as he started to lengthen stride,
He passed several more competitors, the long slippery slopes and humid temperature had taken their toll as one by one they dropped out of contention.
By the time Vincent reached the waters edge he had maybe one hundred others in front of him, his perfectly conceived plan had worked out better than he could have hoped for and he found it hard not to start celebrating.
He dove in, it felt more like a thick fruit nectar then water but it was of no concern to Vincent, he was born to swim and all going well he would have a handy lead by the start of the cycle leg.
He powered on and within a short time had caught the back of the leading pack, the anorexic looking guy was the first Vincent passed,
‘made it further then I thought he would’ Vincent reflected,
but he seemed deflated by the ease at which Vincent passed him and immediately began to flounder. One by one he left them in his wake, with the cycle leg fast approaching he now had only five left to pass, then, as he tried to swim between two of his fellow competitors they closed in on him and forced him under. Vincent had the wind knocked out of him and came back to the surface gasping for air. By the time he had regained his composure he had been passed by several others. He was now in 20th place and the leaders where already out of the water. While he had not planned on this setback he was prepared for it. Victory now lay in the timing of the cycle leg and Vincent was determined to time it to perfection.
As Vincent exited the water he glanced back and noticed that everyone else was well behind him,
‘No dangers coming from behind,’ he thought as he set off to chase the leaders.
The last leg of the race ran through some very inhospitable terrain to a long tube like tunnel that led to the finish line, Vincent hoped to be leading by the time the tunnel was reached. The uneven ground and wet slippery conditions made racing very challenging but Vincent was pumped, he was going on pure adrenalin and in no time had picked up the back of the leading pack. Vincent passed several competitors as if they were standing still then up ahead he could see one of the guys who had tried to drown him earlier. Vincent passed him on his left, then cut hard back to the right in front of him causing him to lose his grip, he went down in a screaming heap and five other competitors crashed over the top of him,
‘paybacks are a bitch,’ Vincent smirked without a hint of guilt ‘one down, one to go’
As the entrance to the tunnel came into sight Vincent had only three left in front of him, including the fallen guys co-conspiritor. Vincent ranged up beside him, keeping pace but not passing, then as they approached the tunnel he nudged sideways, shouldering him into the embankment at the tunnels entrance, he hit with a sickening thud,
‘sorry’ Vincent called out sarcastically before setting off after his last two rivals.
The tunnel led around a long sweeping bend to the finish line, Vincent would not lose from here. He could see the two leaders now, they were side by side going flat out but Vincent was taking ground off them easily and in no time was right on their tails. They were approaching the final bend now and the tunnel had began to narrow, there was no room for Vincent to pass on either side,
“nothing for it,’ he decided as he pushed straight through the middle, both the leaders swung sideways and up either side of the tunnels curved walls. Vincent careered away and now with just one obstacle left to overcome he was in no danger of defeat. He rounded the last bend and charged toward the finish line, as he approached he summoned all his reserves of energy and dove straight into the eggs outer wall, he penetrated it easily, forcing his way inside, he had achieved his goal, out of the thousands of sperm that started this journey Vincent was the soul survivor, he had achieved conception and could now look forward to a long and happy life, “to the victor go the spoils”.
No comments:
Post a Comment