A Little Motivation

Brennan stretched before his last cross-country race of the year. The season had been long, and he was glad it was almost over. In fact, Brennan didn’t ever want to race again. He was tired. Brennan had raced in every 5K and 10K around. The excitement was wearing thin.

“Way to go!” called Coach Thompson. He was always encouraging Brennan. In fact, Coach Thompson was a big reason Brennan had stayed on the team. He didn’t want to let Coach Thompson down.

Brennan finished the last lap of the course and headed out for the cross-country portion of the race. The race went over the hills and dunes of the desert. It wasn’t unusual to spot desert animals scurrying by. Brennan was a little melancholy when he ran. The runners ahead of him were in front by a good distance. He would really have to push himself if he wanted a medal.

Just then, Brennan looked down and saw a rattlesnake in the path ahead of him. It was coiled and hissing.

“Yikes!” yelled Brennan, and he jumped in the air over the snake. Brennan took off in a sprint like he never had before. He kept running until he got past the leader. Racing down to the finish line, he could hardly believe it.

“Nice finish!” hollered his coach. “How did you manage that? I didn’t know you had it in you!”

“Just a little motivation,” said Brennan with a twinkle in his eye. Racing suddenly felt good again.