Transition: Chapter 7 (Newton)

For a few seconds, they run side by side at a frantic pace. But as they approach the aid station, with a burst of sheer will, Jillian begins to edge ahead, ever so slightly...

Just then, a volunteer thrusts out a cup of water, trying to make it easier for Sunshine to grab it as she hurtles past. The unexpected motion is a blur in Sunshine’s peripheral vision. It shatters her concentration. She swerves toward the center of the road, where the toe of her left sneaker snags a slender aluminum leg of Marc Oglesby’s tripod. Stumbling, she sideswipes the surprised photographer, who staggers backward. His arms flail wildly as his feet fly out from under him. He lands with a thud on the hard pavement and rolls to a stop. The tripod falls to the ground in a slow, graceful arc. The camera crashes to the blacktop, where it detaches itself from the tripod and skitters along the road for a few seconds.

“Help me!” Sunshine screams. She spins awkwardly toward the side of the road, struggling to regain her balance as she stumbles headlong into a terrified volunteer. The two women crash heavily into the table, which collapses under their weight. The human mass sprawls to the ground and crumples into a heap. Bananas and oranges fly though the air. Cups of water and PowerAde scatter in every direction.

Jillian Kendal runs through the aid station, a paper cup in each hand. She empties a cup of water onto her head. She downs a cup of PowerAde in two quick gulps. Then she flips both cups carelessly back over her shoulders.

She never looks back, not even once.

After all, she has a race to run.