In the Fullness of time: Go Speed Racer Go!

Starfish

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who danced to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean." "I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" "The sun is up and the tide is going out. And, if i don't throw them in they will die." "But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles of beach and starfish all along it? You can't possibly make a difference!" The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."

Courage is quite the little racer. The boy can run... FAST! He loves it. I asked him yesterday why he loves to run so much. He said "because it is fun." Well, to each his own.. I guess. I suppose I would think it was fun too if I won every race like he does. And, he wins cool stuff... clothing, money, back packs, gift certificates...
He takes his running seriously, too. He practices daily, running a 2k every night before bed. That is about a mile and a half. He can do it in 8.43 minutes. He can fininsh a 1k in 4.2 minutes. It is very impressive. He trains for city 5ks that he runs every other weekend.
His last race had over 1000 people registered in it. It was one of the more serious races in town. The runners were of the more competitive variety and mostly adults. There was even a celebrity runner... An Ethiopian Olympic runner. Courage came in 104th. He was 1st place in his division (Again). He even beat his last time by 30+ seconds! The competition really gets his adrenalin going and you can totally see the focus and drive come over him. It is so cool.
I seriously think he is in this for the long haul. You just watch. he'll be taking State when he is older, and who knows... scholarships, sponsors, etc. He told me he wants to go to the Olympics to run one day. I think he can do it too!