Record Run, page 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: The Two-Pointer
CHAPTER 2: The Chase
CHAPTER 3: Caught
CHAPTER 4: Lunch
CHAPTER 5: First Practice
CHAPTER 6: Not Good Enough
CHAPTER 7: Boring
CHAPTER 8: Old Tricks
CHAPTER 9: To Win
CHAPTER 10: Personal Best
About the Author
About the Illustrator
Glossary
More About Famous Runners
Discussion Questions
Writing Prompts
Jake Maddox Sport Stories
Copyright
Back Cover
CHAPTER 1
THE TWO-POINTER
Harry Ecker and Jeff Razz were laughing. The two sixth graders were crouched together in a jungle gym at a park near Polk Middle School.
The jungle gym they were hiding in was built to look like a pirate ship. At the top was a wood cabin.
From inside the cabin, Jeff and Harry could see the whole park, but no one could see them.
“Okay, Jeff,” Harry said, still laughing. “That’s three for you, and two for me.”
“You know it,” Jeff replied. “Looks like I’ll win again.”
A big pile of water balloons was next to the boys. Harry reached out and picked one up.
“You only have one throw left,” Jeff said. “Even if you get someone soaking wet, you can only tie the score.”
Harry thought for a second. “What if I score a two-pointer?” he asked.
Jeff laughed and shook his head. “You must be nuts,” he said. “You have to soak an eighth grader to get two points. Are you really that crazy?”
Harry smiled. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” he said.
Jeff shrugged. “We’ll see,” he replied. “We can’t wait all day for an eighth grader to walk by.”
Harry slowly got to his knees and peeked through the window. He turned his head to look carefully over the whole park, trying to spot someone to throw the next water balloon at.
“There,” Harry said, pointing.
Jeff got up and looked through the window. “Where?” he asked.
Harry was pointing toward the edge of the park. Two boys from their school, both eighth graders, were leaning against the fence.
“Look at them,” Harry said. “They look like they’re half asleep. They’ll never know it was me.”
Jeff laughed. “Maybe,” he said. “But they’re pretty far off. I bet you can’t even reach them with a water balloon from here.”
“Who said I have to throw it from here?” Harry said.
“What are you going to do, walk right up to them?” Jeff replied.
“If that’s what it takes to win!” Harry said. He tossed the water balloon lightly in his hand. “So, are you going to come with me?”
Jeff shook his head. “No way, man,” he said. “If you hit one of them, you win. But I’m staying right here where it’s safe.”
Harry shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he said. Then he climbed down the ladder out of the cabin.
Harry took a few cautious steps toward the two eighth graders. He stopped behind a tree when he thought he was close enough.
Harry glanced back at the pirate ship cabin. He could see Jeff’s face peeking through the window.
“Well, here goes nothing,” Harry muttered to himself. Then he stepped out from behind the tree.
The two eighth graders were facing the other way and still seemed half asleep. Harry pulled back his arm. With all his might, he heaved the water balloon toward the two older boys.
The water balloon hit one of them right in the back and exploded. It sent a flood of water all over the boy.
Right away, Harry stepped back behind the tree to hide. If he started running, the eighth graders would easily spot him.
“Please, don’t let them see me!” he whispered to himself.
“Hey!” a voice shouted. “Who threw that water balloon at me? You better come out now if you know what’s good for you!”
Harry stayed completely still and silent. He listened carefully.
“I think I saw someone run behind that tree,” another voice replied. “I bet it was him!”
“Oh yeah?” said the first voice again. “Let’s go find out.”
“Uh-oh,” Harry whispered. He decided it was time to start running.
“Get him!” the first voice said again.
Harry glanced over his shoulder as he ran. One of the boys — the dry one — wasn’t very fast. After a few seconds of running, he just stopped and caught his breath.
But the boy Harry had hit with the balloon was still chasing him. And he looked really mad!
CHAPTER 2
THE CHASE
Harry ran as fast he could. At least this means I beat Jeff, he thought as he ran. I got more water-balloon points than he did.
He managed to smile as he picked up speed. Harry didn’t really know the eighth grader he’d hit. He had seen him around school, but otherwise he didn’t know anything about the older boy.
It’s not like he’s going to beat me up or anything, Harry thought.
Still, Harry didn’t want to get caught. It wouldn’t feel like a real victory if he got caught. And Jeff would definitely make fun of him.
Harry glanced over his shoulder again. The kid was catching up. Harry tried to put on a little more speed.
Soon he reached the north end of the park. But suddenly he realized something. He hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going.
He wasn’t thinking as he ran, and he forgot the north end of the park didn’t have a gate. Harry was running at full speed, right at a three-foot fence!
“Uh-oh,” he muttered to himself. “Guess I have no choice, though. I’m going to have to jump it.”
Just before he ran smack into the fence, Harry took an extra deep breath. Then he jumped as far and high as he could. He cleared the fence so easily, he even surprised himself.
“Stop!” the boy behind him called.
Harry kept running. He was sure the eighth grader would stop at the fence. When Harry glanced behind him, though, he saw the older boy glide effortlessly over the fence.
“Whoa,” Harry said as he ran on. He was starting to get tired now.
After a few more steps, he felt something tug on his collar. He was pulled to a stop.
“Gotcha!” the older boy said with a huff.
Harry was caught!
CHAPTER 3
CAUGHT
“Get your hands off me!” Harry said. He spun around and managed to get his shirt out of the older boy’s hand.
“Take it easy, man,” the eighth grader replied. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I almost got away,” Harry said.
“Yeah, I noticed,” the eighth grader replied. “Why’d you throw that water balloon at me? I don’t even know you.”
Harry shrugged. “It’s a game I play with my friend,” he said. “We get a point for each kid we hit with a balloon. But we get two points if we hit an eighth grader.”
“I see,” the older boy said. “So you got two points for me?”
Harry smiled. “That’s right,” he said. “In fact, I beat Jeff by a point thanks to that hit.”
“Well, at least I was the winning attack,” the older boy replied. “Truth is, I was going to drag you by the collar to the kiddie pool and drench you.”
“So what’s stopping you?” Harry asked, frowning. “You caught me.”
The older boy laughed. “To be honest, I didn’t think you’d put up such a good chase,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Harry asked.
“You’re fast,” the boy replied. “And I can’t believe how easily you got over that fence. It was pretty amazing.”
Harry shrugged again. “It was easy,” he said. “So you’re not going to soak me?
The other boy shook his head. Then he looked at Harry and frowned. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“Harry Ecker,” Harry replied.
The older boy said, “Harry Ecker, I’m Paul Carson. And I won’t soak you on one condition.”
Harry squinted at Paul. “What’s that?” he asked.
“After a run like that, what else?” Paul said. “You have to join the Polk Middle School track team.”
“The track team?” Harry said. “You must be kidding. I’m only in sixth grade. No one makes it onto a sports team in sixth grade, except the special B squads.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Paul said. “I’m the team captain. When I tell Coach Norman how fast you are, he’ll let you on the team. I have no doubt about it.”
Harry looked at his feet. “Can I think about it?” he said, looking up.
“Sure,” Paul said. “Let me know tomorrow. But my friends and I will be ready with about a hundred water balloons. And we’ll be right outside the school at three tomorrow if I don’t hear from you before then.”
Harry nodded. “Okay, I got it,” he said. “You’ll hear from me before then.”
CHAPTER 4
LUNCH
The next day at lunch, Harry dropped his tray next to Jeff’s on the table.
“This is so lame,” Harry said. Angrily, he sat down in the plastic chair.
“What is?” Jeff asked. “It’s pizza roll day. This is so not lame.” Jeff popped a pizza roll into his mouth and savored it slowly.
“Not the pizza rolls,” Harry replied. “I mean the track team thing.”
Jeff n
“What do you mean? Do you think I should agree to join?” Harry asked. “And then show up to practice, but not make any effort?”
Jeff nodded. He sipped his juice. “Sure,” he said. “Paul just said you have to join, right? You don’t have to win a medal. Or break all the school records or anything.”
Harry nodded slowly. “That’s true,” he said. He glanced at the clock. Then he went on, “I guess I should go and find Paul. I’ll be in class the rest of the day. Then, at three, he’s going to drench us if I don’t find him first.”
“Us?” Jeff repeated. He gasped. “What do you mean? How did I get involved in this?”
Harry got out of his seat. He replied, “Well, we usually leave school together. And if that happens, I have a feeling you’ll be in the line of fire.”
“In that case, good luck, bro,” Jeff said. He popped another pizza roll into his mouth. “You’ll make a great jock!”
Jeff laughed as Harry walked off to find Paul. Harry tried not to let it get to him.
* * *
Harry had a good idea where to find Paul. Most of the eighth-grade jocks ate lunch in the courtyard. He’d look there first.
Harry pushed open the courtyard doors and stepped into the sun.
He squinted for a minute and shaded his eyes. Looking back and forth, he scanned the crowd of kids eating at the plastic picnic tables.
“Hey, Harry!” someone called out. “You looking for me?”
Harry turned and spotted Paul waving at him. The eighth grader was sitting with five other kids, including two girls. Harry didn’t know any of their names.
Harry waved back and started walking over. At the same time, Paul jumped up. He jogged toward Harry. The other kids at the table laughed a little when they saw Harry.
“So, have you made up your mind?” Paul asked. “You ready to be our next track star or what?”
Harry thought one more minute.
Do I really want to give up my afternoons and join the track team? he thought. Or should I just take my soaking and get on with my life?
Harry frowned, thinking about it. Then again, he thought, I don’t think I want every jock in the school to spend the rest of the year soaking me with water balloons every time they see me.
“I guess I’ve made up my mind,” Harry finally said. “I’ll join the middle school track team.”
“Excellent!” Paul said. He put out his hand for a high five.
Harry threw up his hands. “I can’t promise I’m going to be a track star, you know,” he said. “I’ll be the youngest on the team.”
Paul smiled and shook his head. “No worries,” he said. “I’ve seen you run. Just show up at the track today at four, okay? I’ll talk to Coach Norman.”
Harry nodded. “Okay, I’ll be there then,” he said.
If I have to, he added to himself.
CHAPTER 5
FIRST PRACTICE
A few minutes before four o’clock, Jeff and Harry stood at the back door of the school. They could see the track at the far end of the field. Lots of kids were standing around in red and gold uniforms. Most of them were stretching or jogging in place.
“Those are some goofy-looking uniforms,” Jeff said. He shook his head slowly. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those.”
Harry looked down at his own uniform. Paul had given it to him. “Well, you don’t have to join the team,” Harry replied, “so bug off.”
“Hope it’s not too bad,” Jeff said. “Have fun.” He popped some gum into his mouth and walked off.
“Yeah, I’m sure I will,” Harry replied under his breath. Then he started jogging across the field toward the track.
“Here he comes, Coach,” Paul was saying as Harry jogged up. “That’s Harry Ecker. He’s the one I told you about.”
Harry stopped in front of Paul and the coach. “Hi,” he said nervously.
“Okay, Ecker,” Coach Norman said. “You don’t look so tough to me. Paul says you’re fast.”
Harry shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I’m pretty fast,” he said.
“He’s definitely fast, Coach,” Paul added. “I saw this kid run a 400 meter — with hurdles — in under a minute the other day.”
The coach raised his eyebrows. “Under a minute?” he repeated, surprised. “That would be impressive.”
The coach looked at Harry again. “Okay, son,” Coach Norman said. “I’ll give you a shot, if Paul says you’re up to it. I’ll bring a uniform for you tomorrow. For today, just pay attention and do your best.”
With that, the coach walked off. He stood in the center of the track and blew his whistle. All the team members stopped their warm-ups and gathered around.
Paul headed toward the group. Harry grabbed Paul by the wrist to stop him. “Hey, what was that all about?” Harry asked.
“What do you mean?” Paul replied.
“That stuff about a 400 meter and hurdles,” Harry explained. “I don’t even know what that means! There’s no way you ever saw me run it.”
Paul laughed. “You’ll find out what it means pretty soon,” he said. “But I was talking about yesterday, Harry. That chase you led me on was about 400 meters. And you cleared that fence like it was nothing! Just like a hurdler. You’re a natural!”
Paul laughed again. Then he headed over to the coach with the other team members.
Harry stood where he was for a moment. As he looked at the track team, he thought, Maybe I will be good at this track stuff after all.
CHAPTER 6
NOT GOOD ENOUGH
“Okay, Ecker,” Coach Norman said. “Let’s talk.”
The other runners had already split off into groups after a short talk from the coach. But Harry hadn’t been sure which group he was supposed to join.
“Carson says you’re a 400 man,” the coach said.
“I guess so,” Harry replied.
“Okay then,” the coach went on. He glanced at his clipboard. Then he pointed at a group of guys. “Head over there, with group B. They’ll be running single lap drills.”
“Single lap drills. Okay,” Harry said.
“One lap is 400 meters, Ecker,” Coach replied. “You have run a lap before, right?”
“Of course I have,” Harry replied. “No problem.”
The coach nodded. “Off you go,” he said. Then he walked away to watch the team practice.
Harry jogged over to group B and joined them. There were about ten other guys getting ready to run the single lap drills.
“Hey, new kid,” one of the runners said. “Are you going to run 400s?”
Harry nodded. “I guess so,” he said.
“Okay then,” the other boy said. “Line up. You can run with the first crew. We’ll keep your time. Go on the whistle.”
“Okay,” Harry replied. He walked over to the other boys at the start line and stood with them.
“Ready!” shouted the boy who had shown Harry where to go. “Set!”
The other boys on the start line crouched down a little. Harry tried to copy them.
An instant later, the whistle blew. The runners shot off the line. Harry was a little slow to start, but he got up to speed pretty quickly.
Harry did his best to stay with the other runners. He watched them and copied their running style.
This is a long run, he thought. There’s no way Paul chased me that far yesterday.
Just looking at how big the track was made him feel totally exhausted. He felt himself slowing down. With every step he took, he heard his feet slapping the weird rubbery pavement of the track.
It seemed like forever before he reached the finish line. He managed to beat a few of the other runners he’d started with.
“One minute, fifteen seconds,” the boy at the finish called as Harry ran by. Coach Norman was waiting at the finish line too.
“Not too bad, Ecker,” the coach said. “You’re definitely a strong runner, especially for a sixth grader.”
“Thanks, Coach,” Harry replied, smiling. He was feeling pretty proud.
