.
,
.
I’m excited. I’m going to win this race. I am. I’ve studied the route. I’m ready to go!
Twenty runners in a line. Three…two….one…and we’re off!
Hurtle down a lane, splash through a ford, leap a fence, bolt across a field, zig-zag through a copse, down a grassy bank, splash across a stream, climb up a rock, slide down a rock, and…stop.
Bend over, catch breath. Look behind, no one in sight. I’m well ahead. Great! Go go go…!
Up the footpath…err no, down the footpath and over a fence…where is the fence? Turn around, there’s a fence. Cross a bridge. Trip, fall, get up, run.
Go around a lake…where’s the lake? About turn. There’s a pond, that must be it. Run run run...stop.
Look to the left, look to the right. Up, down, all around. Still no one in sight. Still well ahead.
There’s a pub. We are ending the race at a pub. That must the pub! One final dash…
*
In a village pub, nineteen exhausted runners are relaxing with a well-deserved beer or two.
Meanwhile, in another pub several miles away one smug runner is supping a celebratory pint.
‘The others must still be running’, he thinks. ‘I did it! I’ve won!‘
‘
.
Thanks to Jenne Gray and C.E.Ayr for hosting The Unicorn Challenge
Keith's Ramblings 
Hahaha! Sounds like my guy in the bike race on FF a little while ago 😉
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Why, in all that’s glorious, does he remind me of Harry Worth of bygone days?!
Fun story, Keith, and a great reading too.
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LOL. Reminds me of the time I was hiking alone on Manitoulin Island. I missed a trail marker and found myself at the edge of a roadway. Oops. Turn around and hike back. When I finally found the trail marker, it was high up in a tree so that only giraffes would spot it.
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Haha! As long as he thinks he’s the winner, let him enjoy it.
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Oh, fabulous – but what a shame, I guess…😉
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Badly in need of GPS, this one. Better grab a coffee. I’m feeling exhausted just reading this.
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I think we’ve all been that soldier/runner at times, Keith.
Love the wee footprints coming out of the prompt photo!
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So fun and worth it!
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I was running with them… great capture of drama of the race from the runners’ point of view, Keith. A great read. Sounds like they all won.
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Argh!! I remember arranging to meet some people at The White Hart in a local village. They didn’t turn up.
They were actually in The White Hart at the other end of the village that I knew nothing about!
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Those race courses can be so confusing.
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Hahahaha! That was hilarious! I was running right along with you!
FYI dear Keith, if I may. If you don’t put a space before and after your string of dots, your computer identifies that clump of words as one word …. great for when you’re in danger of going over a word limit. Your story is probably closer to 220 words than 211 …. as if anyone really cares! I’m a nerd that way.
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Thanks Nancy, I hope you’ve got your breath back!
I didn’t realise that! It’ll come in very useful with Friday Fictioneers 100 word limit. Nought wrong with being a nerd, it can be a very useful quality at times!
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Haha, this gave me a good laugh—sounds like a race I’d definitely get lost in too! Reminds me of how I recently got my estate planning sorted; at least now I know exactly where everything’s going, unlike this runner 😂.
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