The Race Of My Life

• Toby Duke, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

As I arrive at the race, I can feel my tummy turning in on itself, making me want to spin away from this race and ride home. But I can’t! I just can’t abandon this race that I've been working up to for three and a half months. I can hear the marshal rounding up the competitors for the first heat, with their neat uniforms and loud megaphones. As the first heat riders start their race, I’m wobbling so much I can't keep myself stable, so I grip my bike for support until my knuckles turn white. I’m dreading the moment when I have to walk up to the starting line and wait for the pop gun to go off.

“Could the Under 12’s heat two please make their way to the start line, thank you.”
This is it. This is the moment I have been waiting for, for a long time. I can hear my parents cheering and supporting me but all noise is wiped out by my rapid heartbeat and my throbbing head. I slowly make my way to the beginning. When I get there, the marshal is checking each person off a list. When she gets to me she says,” hello, what's your name?” “My name is Isaac Jeffreys" I say “Ok…” I can see her beady eyes scrolling down the list until she stops and looks up. “Ahh there you are,” and she ticks my name off with a slick red pen. “Thank you.” and I give a smile half heartedly back, as she moves on to the next person. To my right, I see a muscly boy with a brand new bike that I would never be able to afford and to my left, I see an expressionless girl, looking into space like she is lost in another world entirely. I feel that I will have a lot of competition in this race, so I will have to put a lot of effort into trying to win. I can see the marshal ticking off the last few names on the list as all the other competitors start to put their helmets on. I shakily slide my helmet on my head with sweaty hands and start fidgeting with the buckle on the helmet Until I finally get it done up. I am scared because if I come last, I will be humiliated in front of everybody in the race and in the stands. I am too wound up in my feelings, I don’t bother listening to the marshal that is calling out, “Three… Two… One… Bang!" My heart skips a beat and I can see all the other riders lurch off the starting line and after a few seconds, I then realise that the race of my life has started.