"I don't know about you David, but I'm on the edge of my seat right now." Al Mason said "The Koi Fish are showing a level of will and determination that you rarely see in sports, and it's quickly winning the crowd over."
"As it should!" David Grady said. "We saw in the first leg how Mandy Brody managed to take the lead for her team, despite being a paraplegic. Cassandra Dimitrescu took a stumble in the second leg, but made an amazing comeback to make up for it. Now it all boils down to the run, and it is Joseph Brody who will be tackling this final leg of the triathlon."
"Indeed. And he has the same level of determination in his eyes as his teammates. Heck, he may even have it the most out of all! While I can't say with certainty what is going to happen, I can almost guarantee this will be quite the event to watch."
….
Joseph took great care to control his breathing and pacing as his feet pounded against the ground. He had an eight mile run to do, and running was the most physically taxing out of all the forms of racing in the triathlon. In addition, this was the last leg of the race. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes now. His teammates had done their part (though he didn't realize at the time how much so they did), and now he had to do his part. He had to make sure their hard work paid off.
The California sun was rising even higher now, and the heat was really starting to be felt by Joseph and the other athletes. Luckily, the race coordinators had their backs as there were aid stations at every mile of the course that supplied water to the racers. Joseph was beyond thankful for this. The last thing he needed was to get dehydrated at such an important part of not just the race, but his life in general. He had trained enough to know exactly when he would need to rehydrate himself. He didn't need water just yet, but he definitely would later on.
It didn't take long after he started running for Joseph to realize that he needed to be more strategic when it came to passing other racers as opposed to the other two legs. Some parts of the course were pretty narrow, and this made it difficult to pass other racers. This meant that he couldn't do much to gain a lead in these parts. He had to do it in more open areas. He didn't like this as it restricted his pacing in those more narrow areas, which could very well slow him down. He had to be careful to keep up his pace when these narrow paths came up.
Before long Joseph had made it to Baker Beach, the same beach where he proposed to Cassandra and where he reconciled with his mother. This beach was already an important location to him and his family, so it was only appropriate that the triathlon would pass through here too. He was especially careful to not exert himself here, as running through sand took more energy to do so than usual. Not to mention, he had a huge sand ladder climb that led away from the beach.
This uphill path was quite long, but Joseph's training in the mountainous areas of Romania had prepared him for this. He was even told by race coordinators beforehand that he was allowed to use the cables and posts on either side to help himself, and that there was no shame in doing it. So doing this part of the race was no problem for him. Good things too. He needed to save as much energy as possible.
"Here comes the sand ladder that leads away from Baker Beach." David Grady said. "This is definitely one of the more taxing parts of the run, but Brody seems to be taking it like a champ."
"Well, training in the area he lives in will do that to you." Al Mason said. "Even so, he seems to be having trouble keeping up with the lead racer. If I'm not mistaken, that's Charlie Price, isn't it?"
"It is indeed. To refresh our audience, Price has won both the New York City Marathon and The Boston City Marathon before. So Brody will have to give it his all to win this last segment."
Despite Joseph's efforts though, he just couldn't catch up to the person who had been in front of him since the start of the race, but he wasn't that worried about it just yet. Like Mandy and Cassandra before him, he was saving his energy so he could increase his speed towards the end. But it was clear that this person was using the same strategy, and they were still outpacing him.
Joseph decided to put it out of his mind for now and instead focus on keeping up his pace, grabbing a quick drink of water as he did so. He was now running alongside a steep hill, one of the narrow parts of the course. Since he couldn't do anything to gain a lead here, he decided to slow down his pace just a hair to save as much energy as possible. Once he was out of it, he picked his pace back up again.
Soon a small stone structure came into view. This represented the halfway mark as everyone was to make a U turn on this structure and begin to make their way back. Joseph took note of this as that meant the last part of the race was coming soon. The guy in the lead was still in front of him, now joined by several others, but Joseph again chose not to worry.
I can't focus on that. He thought. It will just distract me. Wait for the last third, then go faster.
The sight of the others in front of him made this difficult, but he managed to ignore it and keep pushing forward while also staying on his toes. Even though he was heading back in the direction that he came, he wasn't just going back down the same path as before. The course led down a different path back to the finish line, which meant different narrow paths he would have to slow down on.
Joseph's legs were aching at this point, the stress of the run was starting to take its toll on them. He ignored it however as he exited the narrow path he was on. Someone at the previous aid station said that this was the last narrow part of the course, and it happened to be right around the start of the last third. So the second the path widened, Joseph picked up his pace.
He wasn't going too crazy due to the amount of energy he needed to run, but it was enough for him to start passing the other races. As he did however, he saw that the person in first, who had been there the entire time, was also moving faster. Joseph breathed hard as he ran. He and his family had gone through so much to get to this point. But despite his increased speed, he just could not gain any ground on this person. They just stayed the same distance away from Joseph. In fact, it looked like they were getting further away.
"Looks like Price is really starting to outpace Brody here." David Grady said. "If Brody wants to catch up, he really needs to put his pedal to the metal."
They were now approaching a street, the last part of the race before the path to the finish line. Joseph's legs were now burning, and he still wasn't catching up to the person in the lead. He felt his heart sink as his breaths got heavier. It looked like he wasn't going to win after all.
For god's sake. I just can't catch this guy. He thought. We worked so long and hard for this. We wanted to win so badly. But now, I don't think I can…
As Joseph's body continued to run, his mind stopped as he realized what he was doing. He was doubting himself when he should be doing the opposite. He was so close to winning, so close to achieving the goal he had set for himself. He had gone through so much to get to this point. He couldn't stop. Not now.
Then, when Joseph needed it most, Master Hisashi's words entered his mind. The words that were said to him when they first met. The words that he would never forget.
'It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life you just do.'
Joseph felt a huge surge of energy go through his body. It was a mix of adrenaline, determination, and hope. One thought entered his mind as this newfound strength took over.
This is one of those things you just do. So do it.
Joseph's legs started to move faster, but he wasn't satisfied with this pace. He wanted to use every ounce of strength he had to do this. He had come too far not to. So he started running faster, and faster, until his run almost became a full on sprint. The crowd was cheering him in amazement upon seeing this, but Joseph didn't even notice. The finish line was in sight, and he was only a few feet behind the lead runner now.
"I don't believe it!" Al Mason shouted in astonishment. "Look at Brody go! He's running like the last several miles never happened!"
Do it. Win it! Joseph thought to himself.
With a determined shout, he made one last push. And to the excitement of everyone watching, he managed to pass the other racer and take the lead. He thankfully didn't need to keep up this hard run for much longer as before he knew it, he felt the tape of the finish line touch his body as he ran through it. He had to practically hit the brakes to avoid crashing into the barrier in front of him.
The crowd that surrounded him was going crazy, cheering and hollering for him as they jumped up and down. He had run so fast however that his thoughts hadn't yet caught up to him to process what was going on. That was until he felt something crash into him. His legs were so tired, he considered it a miracle that he didn't fall over.
When he looked down, he saw that it was Cassandra and Mandy that had tackled him, and were both giving him a tight hug.
"That was so fucking awesome, Joseph! You managed to take first!" Cassandra yelled with excitement.
"We did it! Oh my god, we actually did it!" Mandy yelled, also unable to contain herself.
It was at that moment that it finally dawned on Joseph. He had passed the lead runner. He and his team had come in first place. They had defied all odds and came out on top.
They had won.
As if to confirm this, a voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, your champions for this year's Escape From Alcatraz Relay Triathlon, giving one of the most amazing performances the race has ever seen, let's all give a hand for team Koi Fish!"
The crowd got even louder at that point, but it was nothing compared to the excitement that was going on back at the castle. Everyone was going wild, hugging each other and screaming with joy. Moreau popped open one of Alcina's bottles of champagne to celebrate, while Angie was running up and down the halls with excitement. Even Donna and some of the maids joined in. It was chaos, but it was a good kind of chaos (as long as they didn't break anything of course).
Smiling widely, Joseph returned the hug to his fiancé and his sister with tears starting to form in his eyes. He couldn't be any happier. A few years ago, he was alone and walking on the streets with no hope. But now, he had a family that loved and supported him. And together, they had accomplished something truly remarkable.
The hug was interrupted when Joseph felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the racer he had just passed before with a huge smile on his face.
"Congratulations, man! You were awesome out there!" He said as he held out his hand.
Joseph smiled back and shook it.
"Thanks! You were great yourself! I wasn't really sure if I was going to win there."
The racer chuckled.
"I appreciate it. I won't lie, I was a bit bummed when you passed me at the last second, but I got over it quickly. You guys have more than earned this win."
Cassandra started smiling as well.
"Thank you for being a good sport. What's your name?"
"Charlie Price. As much as I would love to make introductions, you guys should probably start heading to the awards ceremony. I'm sure you have some family that would like to congratulate you as well."
The trio all nodded. Only racers and coordinators were allowed on the course at any given time. So their family had to wait for them on the side.
"We absolutely do." Mandy said. "So let's not keep them waiting."
"Definitely not." Price said with a chuckle. "The longer they wait. The more intense the tackling hug will be when they see you. Trust me, I know from experience."
The trio all laughed.
"Duly noted. Thanks, Charlie!" Joseph said.
The trio shook hands with the Price before heading off to the awards ceremony. All the while, Al Mason and David Grady were watching on with astonishment.
"Well, there you have it folks." Al said. "Team Koi Fish has taken the win for this year's Escape From Alcatraz Relay Triathlon, and what a race it was! I was certainly one of the best ones we've had!"
"I couldn't agree more." David said. "I don't know the full story, but I've heard that the members of this team have not had it easy in life. So to see them take on a race like this and win is truly incredible. I know that word is used a lot in sports, but I really feel it applies here."
"You got that right, and I'm looking forward to seeing what these incredible racers have to say at the awards ceremony. That should start relatively soon after this short commercial break."