Track season officially started two weeks ago for my daughter’s high school team and after a two year hiatus, it’s been a tough few weeks of training for my daughter. The initial struggle had to do with reacquainting her muscles and joints with the strenuous types of exercise movements that her body has been unaccustomed to performing for some time now. Once she got past the aches and pains that typically follow a hard workout, she then had to face and acknowledge the surprising news that her coaches saw in her an ability to train as a 400m runner.

Chantal has always competed in the 100m and 200m events; short sprints are what she is most comfortable with. To suggest to Chantal that she can run the 400m, and run it fast, is like telling her that she is great at math! Anyone who knows Chantal well enough knows that she is not a great mathematician. And yet her coaches saw something in her that made them believe she might just be good at running the 400m race. It’s funny how the words of a mentor can inspire a person to be much more than what they initially believed; Chantal actually took their words to heart and began training under their guidance in full confidence that there might be some truth to what they were telling her.

The first track meet was held on Saturday March 13th at Petty Stadium on Camp Foster. Up first for Chantal was the 100m event; she finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. Second up was the 400m event, and just as her coaches predicted, she surprised us all by winning her heat. The final event of the day for her was the 200m race and she placed third. The second meet was held this past weekend at Ryukyu Middle School on Kadena Airbase. Chantal not only won her 400m race, but also placed second in both her 100m and 200m heats.

Granted, her wins aren’t going to earn her a college scholarship, and probably not even a place on the Far East tournament team later this year, but a win of any kind is always something to be proud of. And as a parent, I am proud not only of her accomplishments, both big and small, but also of her willingness to take on something she knew would be difficult; that in itself makes her a winner!