Finishing Crazy

Finishing Crazy (30)

I come-to on the dirt.

It's so dark outside that I have to wonder if my vision is intact, but, when I remember what time I blacked out, it seems accurate.

I'm careful not to get up too quickly- getting up too quickly means passing out again. But, I manage to sit up. It's hard though, and my arms shake under the pressure and weight from my body.

Someone walks in front of me, puts his arms around me and pulls me up.

"Bryan. What are you doing here?" I ask, entirely confused. Only racers are allowed to be in the race, right?

But then I see his white racing number pinned to his back and gape.

"You're racing in this?" I ask.

Bryan nods slowly. "I would have raced with you, too- in fact, I wanted to, but I thought it would mean more if you did it yourself." He explains.

"But then I couldn't." I respond, My weak body would collapse if it weren't for Bryan holding me up.

Bryan nods again. "I carried you. This is the last mile, and we're going to do it together."

I'm overcome with emotion.

"You carried me for-" I quickly do the math- "five miles? After racing the whole thing yourself?"

Bryan seems a little embarrassed. "You're worth every one of those miles- and more."

He wraps his arm around my shoulder to keep me stabilized, and my weak, trembling arm goes around his waist automatically.

Then, we step forward.

It seems impossible at first, and completely daunting, because at the snail-pace we're going, it feels like we'll never make it. But we do. Slowly, very slowly-but we make it.

Sometimes I let out a cry in protest, but Bryan always encourages me to continue.

"We're almost there," He says about a thousand times during the mile, but I stop believing him after the third time he says it.

When we reach the finish line, Bryan lets go. I almost fall down, but he steadies me.

"This last step is yours. You're the one who worked so hard for it, it's not fair if I get to finish first." He says, smiling.

Just taking that one step feels beyond the stretch of my imagination, but I look at Bryan and it's all I need. I step over the finish line to hear the loudest cheer imaginable.

It seems as if every racer in the Ironman has stuck around at the finish line to watch me finish. I feel lighter than air, and everything slows down around me. People are shouting my name, yelling congratulations, and clapping. Everyone is clapping.

Then, Bryan steps over the finish line and the cheer turns to a roar, and Bryan laces his hand in mine and holds it up into the air. I smile, so widely it's unreal.

"Why are all of these people here?" I ask.

"Because, when all these people found out about the girl who was racing the Ironman in your condition, they all wanted to see." Bryan tells me, squeezing my hand and smiling.

"Yeah? And who told them?" I ask.

Bryan shrugs.

I don't believe him, and he knows it.

"You were never alone in this." He tells me, gesturing to the people around me. And it's true. I haven't been. Bryan's been here with me every step of the way- ever since that fateful day I ran into him at the library.