Chapter 7

Thad was exhausted as he came out the turn and headed for the finish line. His night was over with this race, and he knew he would need to face the press and the questions when he was done.

But no matter how tired he felt, he knew that his teammates deserved his best effort. And he wanted to get them another state record!

So he dug down and sprinted the last 100M of his 400M leg in the 4 x 400M relay. He had passed the field on the back stretch, his teammates doing an awesome job of keeping them in contention, even though the other teams were clearly faster through the first three legs.

It had been a crazy day, Thad reminisced as he ran down the home stretch, his mind wandering back over the day as he crossed the finish line and all the cameras flashing and the people cheering as he did.

It has started with the 4 x 800M. Like this race, his teammates had kept them in contention, and Thad, running the final leg, had posted a state record. While the times for a relay leg weren’t official, he had run his 800M leg in 1:41.5, just off the world record for 800M.

Then his 400M run had followed. In the two hours between his relay and his first individual race, he had stayed in the athlete only area, away from the cameras and the press.

But when he lined up for the race, there was no mistaking that every eye in the stadium was focused on Thad,

Well, maybe the parents of the other runners were on their kids!

Still, it was a bit oppressive to hear the screaming and yelling, the flash of cameras and the click of shutters going off all around him. And perhaps that was part of the reason Thad got off to a bad start in the 400. He had been stressed and more than a little uncomfortable with all the attention.

Then, he looked up and found his rock, his fiery goddess standing at her spot along the first curve. She had clearly forced her way to the front, and there was some commotion behind her with a police officer, however, she met Thad’s eyes and her face erupted in a smile.

So enamored was Thad, that he didn’t even hear the gun go off to start the race. It was only the movement of the other runners that got his attention.

He was at least a couple of steps late getting out of the blocks, and so Thad reached down into that well of energy early and started to run as fast as he could.

He passed the field coming out of the turn onto the back stretch, having completely made up the stagger, and he still put a bit of distance on them before he eased back and ran more normal speeds to the finish line.

He knew he could set another world record, as he could have continued to run at his accelerated speed, but he honestly didn’t want that much attention.

And, he thought, I will have another opportunity to set a new record in the finals.

As it happened, though, he set a new world record anyway. His time, as he crossed the finish line was 42.18, two hundredths of a second faster than his 400M final in the regional meet.

Thad had discussed it with his mother and Tricia before the meet, that even if he set a new record, he would not address the press until after his 800M race. Then, if appropriate he would take 10 minutes to answer questions before the 4x400M relay.

He had run out that race, jogging over to the area of the stadium reserved for athletes and immediately worked to stay loose by stretching and jogging around.

Soon enough it was time for the 800M semifinals.

Thad lined up in the outside lane for the 800. Since he hadn’t officially competed in the 800M at the regionals, he didn’t have a qualifying time for the state meet. As such, he was relegated to the outside lane.

This normally would have suited Thad just fine as he like to be out in front when it came time to break for the inside on the back stretch, and as a 400 runner, he had the speed to get there routinely. It was just that he tended to flag a bit towards the end of the race normally. Or at least before he had found this new source of energy that gave him such abilities.

Thad was more focused this time around, though he did smile at Tricia as he settled into his blocks. Then, the starter made the call, fired the pistol, and the race was underway.

Thad had a good start, and he ran as fast as he could through the first turn without having to call upon his ‘extra’ energy. Still, he found himself alone, in the lead, when it came time to break to the inside of the track.

Thad continued to push his pace, again without calling upon his talent. It was only as he entered the second lap that he began to fatigue, and he was forced to call upon that energy. He still tried to keep the same pace and not try to run any faster. He had been at 49 seconds, roughly, when he crossed the start finish line, and so he just needed to keep this pace for another lap to set a new record.

This time, while things did seem to slow around him, it was not to the same degree as it had previously. Thad took a moment to drink in his surroundings as he ran down the back stretch. This was the side where the athletes were located, but even they were watching in awe as Thad ran past.

In the third and fourth turns, the camera men lined the fence and had their cameras all focus on Thad. It was a mad house on that end of the track and Thad was glad that Tricia and his mom had found space on the other end of the oval.

Then it was down the homestretch, and a new world record time for Thad. As Thad crossed the finish line, he looked over to see a time of 1:39.18!

Knowing that he needed to keep his commitment to his mother, and after congratulating the other racers, he headed over to where his mom and Tricia were standing along the fence.

He easily leapt over the fence and was immediately grabbed by Tricia who pulled him into a scorching kiss that threatened to short circuit his brain.

He felt some jostling and realized that his mother and two police officers were giving them some buffer from the cameras that were trying to capture the event.

Not wanting his kissing Tricia to be the front-page news, he released her and nodded to his mother, who led them over to a small podium where she handed him a note card with a a few key phrases and a short statement.

Thad read over it quickly and put it down on the podium where he could see it. He gripped Tricia’s hand, refusing to allow her to step away while his mother tried to bring things to order.

“If I can get a moments silence, I’d like to get this started. Thad has another race to go and if you don’t settle down, we won’t answer any questions.” His mother began. Once the crowd quieted down, she continued.

“Thad will make a brief statement and then we will take ten questions, so make them count and don’t ask stupid things like how he feels after just setting a new world record.”

Then she stepped back, and Thad took her place at the podium with Tricia by his side.

“As you know, a couple of weeks ago I discovered that I could run really fast. I do not know how I am able to do this, only that I work hard and train hard and take running very seriously. It was something that my father used to do, and I hope that by running hard, I am honoring his memory.”

Thad paused and looked over at his mother who wiped away a small tear but was smiling broadly at him. Thad has added this intro to his statement and so it wasn’t something she had expected.

“Today, I felt really good on the track. My body seems to be handling the work well, and I look forward to competing in the finals tomorrow.”

Thad then nodded to his mother who stepped up.

“Who has the first question?” she asked.

“Do you think you can run faster?” a reporter from the local paper asked.

“I don’t know.” Thad answered. “As I said, this is rather new to me as well, so until I get more practice and more races, I can’t know the answer to that question.”

“Do you follow any special diet or supplements that might be helping you run faster?” One of the national television reporters asked.

“I don’t take any drugs of any kinds, and specifically, I do not take any supplements. I do try to eat healthy, but not obsessively so. In fact, we had dinner last night at a local Italian restaurant and breakfast was in our hotel restaurant, so I am pretty sure that my diet is just average!”

“Was your father a competitive runner? Is that why you run?” was the question from the local television station.

Thad looked over to his mother. While he knew his dad loved to run, he had no idea if he had ever run competitively.

“My husband, who died in the Iraq war, was a runner through college. He ran at Wake Forest University in North Carolina but did not compete after that.” His mother answered.

There were a few more questions, and then one of the reporters asked if Tricia was his girlfriend.

Thad started to answer, but a shake of the head from his mother caused him to pause. It was then that Tricia stepped up.

“Yes, I am Thad’s girlfriend. We’ve been friends for many years, but just recently did this idiot begin to notice me as a possible romantic interest.”

Tricia then stepped back beside Thad and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

“I think that completes our ten questions.” Thad’s mom said as she wrapped up the press conference and walked with Thad and Tricia back to the track in front of the two officers.

Just before he entered the section reserved for athletes, Thad leaned over to shake the hands of the two officers.

“Thanks for your service and for looking out for these two.” he said to each of them.

The two men nodded and kept their eyes on the crowd around them and Thad walked into the reserved section to stretch and meet with his teammates before the 4x400M relay.

Thad crossed the finish line in first place in the semi-finals of the 4x400M relay. His mind, which had been drifting, refocused on the clock, and realized that they had run the relay in what was likely a state record time at just over 3:19. That meant that each of his teammates had run personal best times and he had replicated his 42 second time in the 400.

Thad jogged to a stop and was immediately mobbed by his teammates. While they celebrated, Thad slipped to the side and tried to shake hands with all the other racers. His father had taught him that it was just a race, just a game, and how important it was to be a good sport and encourage those around you.

Just then the stadium announcer came on the PA system.

“So, bad news folks, it was not a world record, but Athens Prep has set a new state record with that performance in the 4 by 400M relay. The anchor leg by Thad Norton was 42.8 seconds, just a tad slower than his 400M time set earlier today.”

And with that, the applause broke out and the day was over. Thad went to gather his things, along with his teammates. He was headed for the hotel where Tricia and his mom had promised as much pizza as he could eat and then he was headed for bed. He had to do it all again tomorrow in the finals.

The morning dawned rainy and gray, and Thad struggled to awaken without the sunlight streaming in the window like it did in his bedroom at home.

He rolled over and cuddled up with Tricia who was lying beside him. While they had spent the night together, Thad had been too tired to do more than just get into bed, His head had hit the pillow and he’d been asleep in just minutes.

Even this morning, he was still feeling sleepy, though his legs did not feel tired or sore, something that he expected given how fast he had run and done so in more races than he usually ran.

Hoping to let Tricia sleep for a while longer, Thad kissed Tricia lightly on the head and started to roll away and get out of the bed. While Tricia groaned softly when Thad rolled away, she didn’t awaken, and Thad crept out of the bed and into the bathroom where he turned on the shower.

He was standing under the warm water when the curtain moved, and a naked Tricia stepped into the shower with him.

“I rolled over and you were gone,” she grumped.

Thad leaned down and kissed her, wrapping her in his arms and savoring the feel of her body pressed against his.

When he needed to come up for air, he marveled at Tricia’s beauty. She looked great normally, but a wet, naked Tricia was almost enough to short circuit his brain.

Tricia leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips.

“Thanks for the compliment but close your mouth before you drown.” she giggled with a smile that lit up the shower.

Thad grabbed a bar of soap and began to soap up Tricia’s breasts.

She moaned and Thad massaged her breast with his hands and rubbed over her nipples with his thumbs.

He worked to be gentle, just savoring the feel of her soft skin and the weight of her breasts, their movement mesmerizing to him.

“I think those are clean,” Tricia chided him, “But I’ve got lots of other parts that need to be washed.”

And with that, Tricia soaped up her own hands from all the suds on her breasts and reached down to clean Thad’s very hard cock.

Thad reached around and caressed Tricia’s ass, the firm muscles from her skating giving her the best ass in the entire state as far as Thad was concerned. The feeling of her slowly stroking his cock was incredible and it only took a few minutes until he was cuming into her soapy hands.

Thad bent down and kissed Tricia and after rinsing his hands, reached down to find her slit, running a finger along it to find her clit.

Rubbing up and down her slit, dipping a finger into her pussy on the down stroke, and rubbing her clit on each up stroke, Thad soon had Tricia panting and moaning. He knew he hit the right spot that drove her over the edge when she screamed and bit his shoulder.

Once they both relaxed and recovered from the intense sensations, they quickly cleaned up and got out of the shower. While they both would have loved to continue, they both knew Thad had a big day ahead of him.

The gray day became a wet day by the time that they made it to the track. The ran didn’t bother Thad all that much as it was warm outside, and the rain helped keep him cool when he was running.

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