HELEN REGRETTED HER agreement to run the relay. After she left Betty and the other girls outside, she assembled with the finalists of the 50-yard dash and tried to push her thoughts of the disastrous outdoor practice runs from her mind so she could focus on the races ahead.
During the first few steps of her 50-yard-dash final, she nearly tripped but still managed to win, though it was closer than it should have been.
Her 100-yard and 200-yard races went better and she won both, but she couldn’t shake the sense of feeling jittery and off-pace.
Normally she would have been delighted with her victories, but with the relay approaching, all she felt was dread. When she was racing by herself, she knew she could win, but why was she so bad at the relay? Maybe it was the pesky baton’s fault; it felt odd to carry anything extra when she ran. She liked the freedom of feeling light and unencumbered, but she had told the girls she would do it so she had no other choice.
By the side of the track, Helen spotted Betty stretching and her stomach twisted with anxiety. She had admired Betty for so long and had been so excited to meet her. What if she disappointed her?
Betty was even prettier in real life than she looked in the newspapers, but it certainly wasn’t a classic type of beauty that made her attractive. Her chin was pointy and her smile was even a bit crooked, yet her blue eyes sparkled and her smile had an unexpected power, a way of making you feel like you were the best of friends after only seconds of meeting. Betty had a field of gravity wholly unto herself, and Helen was being pulled into her orbit. And it wasn’t a bad feeling. Truth be told, Helen felt a little shaky upon meeting Betty; yes, part of that came from being intimidated, but mostly it was the type of shaky that came over her when she was thrilled.
For the final event of the evening, the judges brought the six relay teams together and reminded everyone of the rules. The other women appeared to know what they were doing and a familiar feeling crept over Helen. She tried to concentrate on what the man was saying, but she felt like she wasn’t fitting in and was out of her element. Why was she doing this?
When the official dismissed the women, Betty gathered Helen and the two others. “Ladies, this is our race. If you have to sacrifice a little speed during transitions to get the baton, do it. How about we change up our race order? I’ll switch with Caroline, so I’ll do the hand-off to you, Helen. Sound good?”
Helen’s mouth felt dry. “But I didn’t practice with you. I was having enough trouble getting it right with Caroline; do you think it’s a good idea to change things even more?”
Betty’s cheerful expression hardened into something more serious. “Helen, I have complete faith in you. Listen for my command and then run like the wind when I hand the baton to you. You can do this.”
Suddenly Helen’s legs felt waterlogged.
“Good luck, girls!” Betty called to Caroline and Tidye as she took Helen’s arm and marched her down the track toward their starting areas.
“Doesn’t the captain usually run the first leg? Why aren’t you starting us off?” Helen asked.
“Since my crash, I can’t do the starter’s crouch comfortably anymore. It hurts my back and legs, so I’m avoiding it. That’s why I’m not running any individual races tonight. This is it for me. I’m trying out how it feels to race again tonight.”
Helen glanced to the men lining the edge of the track, writing in notebooks. Seeing the AAU officials made something click into place in Helen’s head. These women needed her. This race was important for their chances to be invited to the Olympic trials, and it was especially critical to Betty. Helen felt her shoulder being squeezed and looked down to see Betty studying her.
“Let’s show everyone what you can do tonight. All I’ve been hearing is that my chances of running again are over, but we’re going to win this, don’t you think?”
“Yes, we are,” Helen said, jogging away to take her place around the curve. Her legs still trembled, but she felt resolved now. She would not disappoint Betty.
Minutes later, the starting gun fired. Tidye’s legs wheeled around the first curve in a blur and Helen couldn’t even make out the baton transition to Caroline because they did it so seamlessly. Helen’s muscles tightened with the recollection of how she had failed the transition practice outside, but at the same time, Betty had the baton and was barreling toward her with a look of startling determination. Helen needed to loosen and face down the track, away from the women coming in, but she took one final glance over her shoulder. If Betty could run like that after all she had been through, Helen couldn’t fail her. She turned and stared at the finish ribbon. The noise of the crowd felt like it was bouncing off every surface of the building. What if she couldn’t hear Betty’s command? She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and then Betty’s voice pierced through everything.
“UP!”
Helen smiled, took a step forward, and pushed her hand back, but didn’t dare start running. A stampede of runners crashed upon her, and when the baton slammed into her hand Helen lurched into running, looking for the regulation relay lines. She couldn’t find them, but with the air thick with the swarm of bodies converging on her, there was no time to spare. It was a rocky beginning but she leapt into her stride and took off. Once she was moving, her unsteadiness vanished. She ran toward the finish line, and as the tape stretched across her chest, she raised her
