Chris McCandless at a KO Cross Country Meet

I hear heavy breathing and the pounding of two pairs of feet as I am passing the iron-gate to a school with a pretentious name. I despise the school immediately recognizing its horrid purpose. Simply from the name and a glance at the grounds I can tell that it teaches wasteful clones the skills to achieve a place in their slice of society. It’s a school that will allow them to live the same lavish lifestyle they lead at this point of time as an adult. I grew up with similarly excessive parents and feel drawn by the competition. I’m hoping to find a runner who takes their discipline seriously and runs without the fear of losing the trail. The student who is running away from the evil in the world and toward purity with single-minded determination. The boy for which running is his religion; therefore he has put in the necessary extensive training to finish with the best time. I spot a single boy whose body betrays the signs of each characteristic that I have listed. He is clearly working against the forces that cause waste and stagnant living. This boy enjoys the physical exertion each step causes his body and runs with perfect form. He is gaining on the first and second place runners with a competitive yet joyous gleam in his eye. Minutes after he wins the race he doubles over to puke and I know that will only make his victory sweeter. He will know that he had to push his body to the extremes to achieve his time and because of that he will be sure the victory matters. As the last runners are finishing up I hear a mother squealing about the giant ice-cream sundae she will gift her son if he doesn’t finish last again. The outcry suggesting that he will run faster should he be tempted with the wasted calories disgusts me deeply. I quickly exit the scene running away from the evil that permeates the school moving closer to the cleanliness of the wild.