Run For It by Matt Christopher Page B

“See you soon, then. Maybe we’ll be able to take a walk one of these days.”
    “I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Marj.

10
    D uring his fourth week of workouts, Theo ran a full mile on the track without a stop. He ran it in about ten and a half minutes.
     After his final stretches, he did something else he’d never done: he touched his toes without bending his knees. A five-K
     run was looking more and more possible.
    Theo had gotten new running shoes, the first pair of actual running shoes he’d ever owned. They made a difference. They were
     light, and his feet and ankles felt better when he used them. His parents celebrated his achievement by taking him out to
     dinner.
    Theo was now in his fifth week of running and had set himself a goal. He wanted to run a mile and a half, nonstop. This week,
     he would be running forup to fifteen minutes, which made the mile and a half something he might really do.
    After a few days in the park, Theo went to the track to run. A mile and a half meant six full laps, and today he was going
     to go for it. He stretched and warmed up with a five-minute walk. The day was cloudy and cool, so Theo wasn’t worried about
     the heat tiring him out. He finished his prerun drink, took a deep breath, and began to run.
    He finished two laps with no strain at all, but midway through the third, Theo began feeling as if he was pushing himself.
     Was it possible that he’d set his goal too high, too soon? He wasn’t going to give up easily.
    As he ran, Theo heard a familiar voice behind him. “Hey, Theo! Looking good!”
    It was Steve LaMotta, who came up and slowed down to Theo’s pace. “You’re doing much better than when I saw you last. Congratulations!”
    “Thanks,” Theo said. “I think I might be shooting for too much today, though.”
    “Can I make a suggestion?” Steve asked.
    “Sure!” Theo answered.
    “You need to relax a little,” Steve said. “Especiallyyour arms and hands. Do you know that your fists are clenched and your arms are tense like you’re getting ready for a wrist-wrestling
     match? That just tires you out, and it doesn’t help your running at all.”
    Startled, Theo realized that he
was
doing exactly what Steve said. And just focusing on it made him a little more tired.
    “Loosen up those arms. Shake ’em out. Keep them relaxed and loose. Try to imagine that you’re holding a tennis ball in each
     hand so you don’t clench your fists. You’ll find that running is much less strain,” Steve said. “And while we’re at it, I
     think you’re doing something we call ‘overstriding.’ Your stride — the length of your steps — is too long, and that adds to
     the strain, too. Try to shorten your stride by an inch or two and your legs may feel more comfortable.”
    Theo thought for a moment and tried to cut down the length of his steps by a little.
    “Experiment a bit,” Steve advised. “Find a stride that feels right. You’ll know when you have it.”
    As he ran, Theo tried to find a stride that would make a difference. He’d run a hundred or so yards and change it a bit. Finally,
     after four or five changes,he looked over at Steve. “I think I got it! This does feel more natural.”
    “Great!” Steve said. “One last thing — if I’m not making you crazy with all this.”
    “No, what is it?” Theo asked, feeling more comfortable with his relaxed arms and slightly shorter stride.
    “I think your neck and shoulders are too tight, too,” Steve said. “When you run any distance, the idea is not to waste energy
     on muscles that you don’t need. Also, if you tense up in the wrong places, you get really sore. You need to do some posture
     work to take some of the pressure off your neck. I can show you a few things. But for now, it looks like you’re not having
     as much trouble as you were.”
    “You’re right — I’m not.” Theo was pleased, and even more so to realize that, as he and Steve had been together, they’d gone