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#235: Running Wild

Every day, countless people around the world participate in some form of running, from jogs to ultramarathons. And that simple act of putting one foot in front of another is a deceptively meaningful one; it’s something that transcends pure sport, and that can be used as a metaphor for various life experiences.

Running has a powerful psychological effect, as it often mirrors or influences our mental state. Just think about how often it pops up as an image in literature, to express a character's behavior or mindset (think running on empty, moving in circles, heading towards trouble, escaping problems, racing against time, and so on). This week, let's explore the theme of running and some of its interpretations in storytelling.

This week's prompts

Start your story with one or two characters going for a run.

Adventure – 37 stories

Write a story in which a character is running away from something, literally or metaphorically.

Angst – 122 stories

Make a race an important element of your story.

Narrative – 44 stories

Write about a character who suddenly cannot run anymore.

Character – 42 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “You can’t run forever.”

Dialogue – 65 stories

Stories

“Fear” by Christine LW

Submitted to Contest #235

Lizzy would throw tantrums runing around in circles till she got her own way. Her parents Edd and Suky Miller felt awkward around their daughter with her chubby cheeks , rosebud lips , corn blue eyes and blond locks. They hoped that the behaviour would change as Lizzy got older. At seven she had run around in circles stating she had been bitten by a bear at the zoo scratching her arms. The teacher had sent her home from school, after they had got their daughter a pony optimistic that she would consider others, and settle with Tabo the pony. ...

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“Even Peter Pan Doesn't Live Forever” by Joe Roberts

Submitted to Contest #235

What is the difference between life and time? Time will kill a life, but a life cannot kill time. Jason always had a fascination with time. He was eight years old when he first noticed a preoccupation with the subject as he told himself while walking to school, ‘You can wait to grow up.” He didn’t know the specifics of what that meant until many years later. The word “Wait’ and the term “Grow Up” both implied he was cognizant of the concept of time. All of us are to varying degrees in different stages of life. All he knew at eight years of a...

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“The Escape” by Jo Gatenby

Submitted to Contest #235

Marion always shouted at the stupid movie heroine, running in a straight line while the vehicle bore down on her from behind. Yet there she ran, bang down the middle of the road, doing the exact damn thing. But it wasn’t as if she had a choice. The tall rock walls on either side looked too high to jump. And she was no athlete. Should a miracle occur, and she managed to leap up and grab hold of the top of one, instead of pulling herself up and over, she’d hang there, imitating a turkey in a Dickens butcher shop window, until they cau...

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“The Cruel Classroom Queen” by Jake Asbell

Submitted to Contest #235

Faye Diamond is shorter than most, with pale skin that elegantly courted her waist-long curly golden hair that framed her gem-like hazel eyes. The Diamond name was known for their successful casino empire throughout the country of Merian. Her standing as the heiress made her a prime target for families trying to marry into power, so when Faye turned ten, her father sent her to attend school in Ishata so she could attempt a normal childhood. Fate began middle school doing everything she could to hide her family standing. For the first few wee...

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“Second Chances” by Teresa Elaine Ryan

Submitted to Contest #235

Tina Jacobs put her key in the lock and turned the knob. As she entered the Second Chances thrift store, her nose was immediately filled with the old familiar smell of mildew and air freshener. She couldn’t understand why the scent still shocked her. After two years, it should come as no surprise. She punched in the alarm code and re-locked the door. Business wasn’t open for another half-hour. As she headed for the back office, she surveyed the large warehouse-space filled with just about anything you could think of. Shoes, clothes, books...

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“Don't Be Like Joe” by John Dmytruk

Submitted to Contest #235

Joe Swilvak had a remodeling business in Martinsville, New Jersey. Up to about eight years ago he was working almost everyday. Then the business started to slack, so much that he spent more time sitting in front of the TV then behind his miter saw. It wasn’t only his business that slacked off. He stopped getting invited to parties. His wife Jill and him would always be invited to his neighbors for parties and picnics. Now he sits alone, just him and his TV. It wasn’t just customers and neighbors avoiding him. It was also his kids and relativ...

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“Psychogenic Dumpster Fire” by Walter Harris

Submitted to Contest #235

Anxiety stabbed Consciousness to death in front of us. I just stood there watching in a dull fascination as everyone else ran in panic. It didn’t make sense I thought as Consciousness herself stretched out an arm in a dying plea for help. “You can’t just stand there, come on!” A voice screamed from behind me as someone yanked at my arm. Reason. We ran through what felt like quicksand for a time, before catching up to the others. Foresight screamed at everyone the need to move faster. I glanced ...

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“Fateful Encounter” by Neer O

Submitted to Contest #235

24 years. That’s how long Fredro had been running. Running from his family, friends, and the hundreds of city guards who probably wanted him behind bars, if not outright executed. Running from himself. His curse was getting stronger again. The full moon was drawing near; this time, it would be the Blood Moon. Any semblance of control over himself he may normally have would disappear. He needed to get away from everyone, everything. He couldn’t afford a repeat of Braikovic. One massacre was more than enough. The mountains loomed before him,...

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“A Banker's Will and Testament” by Mary Manning

Submitted to Contest #235

The ordinary day Paul had was like several others, thousands before. He lived the same balanced life he always did. He was a public figure too, but, that didn't phase him much anymore either. He was healthy as a horse. He was always doing and saying whatever anyone wanted him to. The point was is that Paul was a someone in most everyone he knew eyes. He was still single but dated from time to time. Paul was set in life and he thanked the heavens for it. The story of Paul was not boring; it was anything but; he had a past and this fine day he...

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“Running with Jesse” by Dave Bolin

Submitted to Contest #235

Danny dribbles the ball in the glow of the afternoon sun, the concrete driveway still radiating the summer heat at 5:30 pm. “Fellas,” Danny says to the two boys, “I hate to do this to you at such young ages, but a father’s job is to teach his sons life lessons. And the lesson here is this: you two are too short to stop this game winner.” He elevates, releases the jumper, and yells, “Steph Curry!” as the ball arcs across the painted sky. And clanks off the rim, rolling out of bounds into the grass. The two boys fall to the ground, r...

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“Gorilla Bite” by Tara Socorro

Submitted to Contest #235

(*Sensitive theme: description of war*)He had been told not to join. On no uncertain terms. His mother, and then his father, had sat him down (his mother fiercely, his father solemn) and told him that it was the errand of so many fools. That their hideout in the hills would echo with the sounds of gunfire and screams and young boys’ blood would wash into the rivers with the rain. But I can fight, he protested.You can die, his mother railed, her anger magnifying her height until it seemed she was towering over him.This is not a war—not a...

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“Serenade Primrose ” by Sophia Shearman

Submitted to Contest #235

The clock struck half past twelve. Serenade Primrose pulled herself out of a deep sleep. She dragged herself out of bed and lingered by her window, gazing at the moon, full bellied, like her. But she, unlike her beloved moon, had lost her glow; a heavy shadow haunted her once bright face. Serenade brushed a clump of red hair from her gray and stormy eyes stripped of their blue color. Her eyebrows knit into a knot on her forehead and she took a sharp breath in; the time has come. She sauntered to her front door and slipped on her silk robe o...

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“Just a light Jog” by Orla McGivern

Submitted to Contest #235

Rubber bounces off tarmac like a hand off a cheek. A bright red cheek. Burning. Aching. Puffing. Pairing, with another, while I force out steadied pants in a focused rush onwards. The scraping pounds of worn rubber dig into the moist crevices of concrete. Trainers continue to repeatedly slam into rain-harried floor. With each measured pace, I will my aching thighs to mimic the movement of the shoes, begging for the pain to ease, for relief to find me. My stomach tightens and relief stays hidden as my left side, pierced and th...

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“Tête-à-Tête at a Train Station” by Carina Caccia

Submitted to Contest #235

She hadn’t meant to kiss her, hadn’t meant to make her cry, and she very well hadn’t meant to leave without saying goodbye, but the train—an hour late—was pulling into the station, and if Bella was any good at anything, it was running away. “It’s a cliché but are you running to or from something?” asked Amelie. They’d met a half hour ago, both affected by delays, and now sat on cold tiles just outside the news agency, Bella’s legs around a small backpack, Amelie’s propped up on a green 80L rucksack as though it were a footrest. “I don’t know...

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“Runaway” by Zoë Page

Submitted to Contest #235

She has been running such a long, long, long time. She runs along the sea and into the night, and if one impossible day she does reach the edge of the world, she would keep running off it. And if that impossible day did so impossibly come, if by then she was still physically able to run, she would run and fall along with the sea as it tumbles inevitably over the edge, into the forever-night lit by the pearlescent and guiltless moon, and finally be free from the thing that has been running after her such a long, long, long time.For to run off...

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$250

Prize money

310

Contest entries

121

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 02, 2024 EST

Won by Kajsa Ohman 🏆

Title: KILLER IN THE WILLOWS

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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