Written for the Writing Club prompt of ‘key’.
Dedication, that’s what it took. Personal achievement, relationships, success – dedication was the key to all of them. As he drummed into his children, you had to work for what you wanted.
Year-round he trained, measuring, timing, perfecting his technique, straining to get the best out of his muscles and sinews, heart and lungs.
He practised early in the morning when the rest of the world was still abed. He practised in the evenings, driving to a secluded spot where his training would not be interrupted by traffic or passers-by. Warm-up and cool-down routines were all part of the regime, as was eating the right foods to keep him in peak physical condition.
The prize was his for the taking – and the losing. His name was on the winners’ roll of honour for the last four years, but he knew that close on his heels were younger men, one of whom would, inevitably, triumph someday.
Which is why he’d decided that this would be his last year competing. He wasn’t having anybody take his crown – he would quit while he was ahead and retire undefeated.
And then what? He’d only had a few years to make the most of the glory days, but there’d be no lucrative commentating contract or TV career, and he couldn’t see himself coaching someone to achieve what he had. No, once today’s event was over, that would be it. He’d simply walk away from the spotlight and go back into his everyday life, like some animal that has spent too long in the glare of the sun and needs the cool shade of its shelter.
As he stood poised on the start line, every muscle ready to propel him to victory, he heard the tannoy crackle into life.
‘Our next event is the Parents’ 50-metre Sack Race…’
Carol Carman