Another story of a HS runner helping a fallen competitor

The runner who fell was in second to last place. The runner who helped her (who had earlier won the 1600) was in last place. There wasn't much on the line here. How nice to see a kid do the right thing and help out a fellow competitor. If I were her Mom, I would be as proud of her kind gesture as I would of her win.

Agreed. I am not sure why the 1600 meter champ couldn't hang in the 3200 meter, but that is neither here nor there... She did a good thing without screwing up her own race.

Now, the dude who carried the other guy back to the starting line of the XC race was a straight-up weirdo, but this is simply a show of sportsmanship.

If the girl had been racing, it would have been kind of strange. I mean, it isn't like the fallen girl was stranded out in the jungle and needed help. This was a noble act of camaraderie simply because she didn't have to do this, but did it to help a fellow runner.

To me, this is a nice story because it wasn't about being "All State" or qualifying for anything. It was the last-place runner helping the second-to-last place runner make the last 20 meters or so to the finish line. Nothing more. That's not dodging consequences or tainting anything - that's one person helping another, a quintessential human act. Also, the young woman who did the helping seems to have a healthy perspective on it, namely that it isn't that big a deal in the real scheme of things ... she gave a nice quote about how when she thinks of "heroes" she pictures people like Harriet Tubman and those who actually saved peoples' lives, so she doesn't consider herself a hero at all.And even the grownups showed some class as well: "By rule, a runner ... is automatically disqualified for aiding another runner, but meet officials chose to leave McMath and Vogel in the results rather than take action." Wait, meet officials using some common sense? Stop the presses!Look, at some point in life you're bound to get in over your head, and yes it's embarrassing, but learning to accept genuine assistance in those moments (if you're lucky enough to be offered it) is an important life skill, never mind your gender.

asdfe wrote:

I always feel so callous when reading these stories. I get no "warm fuzzies" from reading them. I instead always think how the person who fell ran above their head and paid the consequence.

If I fell near the finish of a race, I would be mortified if I was helped by a competitor across the finish line. If it resulted in me being All State, my medal would feel tainted and meaningless. Maybe it's because I'm a guy and I would feel different if I were a girl?