In Just 800 Meters a Legend Was Born

by Drew Holmes

Practice had ended and the team climbed the bleachers. We stayed late to witness a classic debate settled once and for all: Who was better — the sprinters or the distance runners?

Being a javelin/discus thrower, and therefore a resident of neither camp, I did not have a dog in the fight. However, the East Bridgewater High School track team was a small community, so I had friends on both sides of the equation. That included John and Dave, each side’s champion chosen to compete in the grudge match.

John was a sprinter, never having competed in distances longer than 100 or 200 meters. Dave was a distance runner, usually running the mile or two-mile. Both were top athletes in the South Shore League at their respective distances, so choosing a race that did not favor one or the other would be tricky. For this matchup an intermediate distance of 800 meter — two laps around the track -was agreed upon.

As I settled into my seat, I was with a small group of distance runners, so I pragmatically threw my support behind Dave. Popular opinion was that the distance gave Dave a slight advantage since he was used to running well beyond 800 meters. The runners took their marks, and our coach started the race.

As expected, John got out to a fast start. This was unsurprising since he was a sprinter, a discipline that rewards maximum output. Dave was trained to conserve energy and maintain a steady pace, so we fully expected him to start from behind and catch up when John tired. As they completed the first lap John held a slight lead.

“He’s going to die in the second lap,” I heard a nearby distance runner comment, “There’s no way he can keep up that pace.”

Only John did not lose speed. In fact, as he came around the final turn and into the last straightaway, he found a higher gear and increased his already impressive lead. The anticipated slowdown never came, and he won the race handily.

Dave did not run poor race. He ran extremely well, but as we all discovered, John had the capacity to run farther and faster than he ever tried before. He had an undiscovered all-state level talent for the 400 meter and would go on to dominate that distance for the remainder of his high school career. If not for that race his aptitude for longer distances likely would have remained unknown.

What can we learn from this as musicians? Do something new. Maybe you want to compose a concerto? Write one! Feeling drawn to the trombone? Try it! So often we get caught up in exploiting knowledge or new experiences that we miss the opportunity to explore something new.

For me, exploration came in an internship in the Philadelphia Orchestra Library, an experience directly responsible for the path I travel today. That path has not been obvious nor has success been guaranteed, but the journey has been worth it. Without trying not only something new, but something I had never heard of, I do not know where I would be or what I would be doing today.

Taking a chance at something new is the first step towards discovering what we are capable of. Sometimes that first step is trying a job you know nothing about. One day at track practice it was running two laps faster than anyone though possible.