The Running Dream

Jessica faces a new challenge in this chapter when her track team invites her to their next meet. She feels that she has to attend, especially since the team has already begun raising money at the meets through bake sales and raffle tickets. The first car wash event will take place that weekend. Jessica is grateful for everything her team has done, but secretly she doesn’t think they will raise the money needed for her running leg.

When the day of the meet arrives, Jessica finds herself reflecting on what it meant to her to be a runner. She remembers how often other athletes, tennis and basketball players, remarked that being a runner was easy. But she points out that runners practice in all kinds of weather, and most other athletes go indoors when the weather turns cold and wet.

Running is something that many people can’t understand. But Jessica argues that running is all mental and therefore challenging. Her mother said Jessica was born to run. Kaylee tried running with Jessica for a while, but never enjoyed it. Jessica is miserable without running, but the flickers of hope fade every time she thinks about the cost of the prosthesis.