Turn Your Set-Back into a Come-Back

“On your marks. Get set—bang!” These words and the sound of the gun ignited an energetic spark inside of me every time. Every time—except when it seemed to count most. Though state track my sophomore year was beyond unpleasant, looking back, I see an important lesson learned. We must move on from our failures.

It is every competitor’s dream to be on top; at regional track my sophomore year, I finally had my chance. However, the regional meet was completely exhausting! With rain and tornado warnings that led to several delays, my recovering time between my four events was greatly diminished. As the finals for my best race, the 300 meter hurdles, was approaching, I had placed fifth in all of my other events. I was discouraged that I had not done better but was still excited I was going to state in those events, and I knew the 300 hurdles were my real time to shine. Every cell within me desired to win that race; as I stepped into my starting blocks, I knew it was mine. Lord, please help me run for you. Let me win this one for you, I prayed. Crossing the finish line first, my thoughts were, I won! Thank you, Jesus! Finally, I was on top of the podium. Two days, eight races, and a mere five hours of sleep later, I came out a champion.

From there, it was on to state! My dad and I studied the times of everyone in the state. I actually had a chance at the state title. It was anyone’s race, but I was in the running. I knew it was going to take extreme hard work on my part, I would have to run the best race of my life, and I would need to focus like never before in order to actually win. I believed I could do it, but I was getting nervous. As the state meet quickly approached, I just prayed I would be true to my abilities.

What was supposed to be a three day event ending with medals and glory only gave me tears. The first events I ran at state were the 100 meter hurdles and the 100 meter dash. I was not expecting great things, but I still was not prepared to face my worst times of the season. Before I knew it, the 300 hurdles were coming up; the moment I was waiting for was about to arrive. It rained as I warmed up for hurdles. I was not ready to race, but, honestly, it did not seem like anyone was. Soon my heat was up. I set my blocks, and not long after, the race began. I never got into sprint mode. My form was absolutely terrible, and I kept getting all twisted up when landing. I ran so slowly! It was like that feeling in a dream where you try to run but you cannot move. Crossing the finish line, I knew my time was going to be bad, but I was not expecting the numbers on the stopwatch screen to be as horrific as they were. It was over. I was supposed to be a state champion, but instead, I was nothing. My glorious moment never came, but perhaps, the lesson learned is far more valuable than any gold medal.

I was supposed to accomplish great things. I was supposed to be on top. I was supposed to be a champion. I failed. “Turn your set-back into a come-back,” these words spoken by my dear friend are what allowed me to see beyond what I thought was helpless misery. Failures do not define us unless we let them. Instead, we must move on, let go, and come back stronger than ever before.