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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#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 – 123 stories

Make a race an important element of your story.

Narrative – 44 stories

Write about a character who suddenly cannot run anymore.

Character – 43 stories

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

Dialogue – 65 stories

Stories

“The Figment of a Footprint” by Dr. Stephen A Salaka

Submitted to Contest #235

I have been running; for how long, I can not tell. A wrong turn, a trailblazing disaster, lost and never to be found. How did I get here? Does it even matter anymore? With each labored breath, pacing my strides, my body is consumed by a primal battle, the stale air thick with rancid decay. The forest engulfs me in a suffocating terror, its ancient malevolence seeping into every inch of its murky darkness. Twisted trees writhe and contort in agony, their branches reaching out like gnarled claws to ensnare me. But it is not just the physic...

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“The Squiggles” by Sjan Evardsson

Submitted to Contest #235

The Squiggles sprawled out from the edges of the city; an array of bright colors that covered the hand-built cinderblock, concrete, and wood buildings without making it seem any less dire than it was. Ed felt blind without his collar plugged in, feeding from the net towers that blanketed the city in bandwidth and provided his “inner voice” that had long ago replaced whatever instinct he might have had. Most people that ended up in the Squiggles never planned it. Those who moved there on purpose, like Ed, only did so because they were avoidin...

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“Turnaround” by D'Spencer Luyao

Submitted to Contest #235

We’re watching a show, and you keep turning the volume up and down and up again. When they’re whispering, the volume goes up, and when they’re fighting, it goes back down. I can tell exactly when you’re going to reach for the remote, and every time you do, the volume changes in twos. 20 to 22, 22 to 24. You double tap the volume button every time, as if it’s all one movement. You didn’t always do that. I did, t...

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“Sinnerman” by Simeon Bingham

Submitted to Contest #235

Never had I heard such a sound so dramatic and ancient, as if it were calling from the onset of all creation. A sound that shrieked throughout the open air and rumbled through the dense earth. It cracked open the sky in a glorious display and brought forth the dead from their graves in an awful exhumation. No, never before had I heard anything quite like the horn I heard on Judgement Day.Its tune struck me in the gut and shook my spirit. Instantly, I knew. The last grain of sand of the holy hourglass had fallen, and the final leaf of life’s ...

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“Heart Run” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #235

The story I’m about to tell you is absolutely true, nearly every word. In 2002, I suffered my first myocardial Infarction or what most people refer to as a heart attack. I was only 47 at the time. Six months later, I entered the 5K Heart Run. I know most of you might say it was nothing more than a fast jog, but for me I was running hard for my life… It was late spring and runners from around the local area had gathered at the parking lot in front of the University of Alaska Anchorage Administration Building for the...

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“Memorial Marathon” by Joe Forgue

Submitted to Contest #235

Closing my eyes, heaven sent supportive smiles kept me going. The downtown start was jumbled yet quite manageable. I was comfortable beginning with the 12 minute a mile group; quite confident I could finish in no more than the 5 hours I had practice for. Closer to 4 hours was my best-case scenario. Preparing to run was logistically enjoyable. Had to first find increasing distances of 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-mile running venues. While a challenge, the job turned out to be a set of minor geography tests. Due to a vist with my son in Hong Kong, I ...

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“The Crying Cow” by Ken Cartisano

Submitted to Contest #235

It looks like my crime spree is coming to an end. Blinding blue lights are flashing all around, I hear dogs barking in the distance, drawing nearer, a helicopters' rotors chop the air in the sky above me with inexorable efficiency as I cower behind a downed and rotting oak tree and a couple of stiff-leafed cabbage palms.A crackling voice through a megaphone informs me that I am surrounded. If I surrender peacefully, no one will get hurt. Not one, but two red dots flicker and dance through the foliage a few meters away. Sharpshooters! With la...

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“The Lookout” by Amy B

Submitted to Contest #235

Trigger warning: this story depicts moments of sexual assault, violence and domestic abuse. I lay in the squishy mud and prayed silently. Hoping I could hold my breath just a little bit longer. Every sound, every movement spiking my heart rate to an aggressive degree. I was going to die in this pile of mud and leaves. Never seeing my family again. My life may disappear because of a simple mistake. A quick reply on a dating site. He flattered me and I ate it up. Agreed to a date. And now here I am in the dark forest barely breathing, prayi...

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“The Grand Canyon or The Mount Everest ” by Yam Andrenalina White

Submitted to Contest #235

When someone’s heart breaks, so does a piece of the world. A crack in the pavement, a valley, or even an earthquake. Likewise, when someone’s heart is repaired, so is the earth.Will this be a story of the creation of the Grand Canyon, or will it be the creation of Mount Everest?Will his heart be found or lost?…..I loved plentifully, but it was only seven souls in the whole world that I loved deeply.Mama squeezed my legs as I groaned in pain and relief.“Caius, my boy, you may love your dreams more than yourself, but I don’t love anything more...

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“General” by Hannah Lannswift

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #235

My eyes fly open like I’m waking from the dead. I start up, tossing aside the blanket that had been tangled around my legs. Something woke me up. I kick dirty laundry out of the way and shift my body to sitting up. Head swimming. The sunlight is too bright in the room and I find myself squinting around. When I lean forward, my phone tumbles off my lap, hits the edge of the coffee table, and clatters to the floor. I wince. “Shh!” I hiss at it. Why is that so loud? It echoes through the whole house. I look down at the dark phone way far away...

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“Art Acquisition ” by Mia Twysted

Submitted to Contest #235

Kurt took a long, painful breath before contorting his body to fit between the dumpster and the side of his brick apartment building. The Grand Am's screeching tires sent shivers up his spine. Closing his eyes, he listened as Mark and Orlando exited the car and shuffled by the alley."Where did he go?" Orlando said."Damn, he's fast," Mark said.The two men stopped at the opening of the alley. They kicked through some discarded boxes as they peered into every dark corner. The men growled, unable to see Kurt, who had wiggled into the middle, all...

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“The Strange Encounter” by Daphne Anderson

Submitted to Contest #235

It was a miracle that I even made it out alive. I have been coming into these woods since I was a kid and my father was strong enough to put me on his shoulders. As a young woman in today’s society a girl always has to be prepared for literally anything, even if it sounds crazy.The forest was over 500,000 acres and crossed in between two states, North Carolina and Virginia, you could hike, hunt, camp, and then some all in one area with the most natural beautiful tall white waterfalls. One year ago my dad and I had our last hike togethe...

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“Running into a Revolution — Conversations in Hong Kong, 2019” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #235

6:45am The AlarmI check the time, and try to go back to sleep. My legs are sore from yesterday’s 20 km hike (most of the trains in the city have stopped running), and I need to run again tonight.7:30am The Middle School GirlsA rumble from the girls' middle school beneath my 27th floor window jars me awake. In the school courtyard, I see 50 young girls in student uniforms standing in a circle. “Dirty police break the law! Dirty police break the law! Revolution of our time!” they chant-scream in unison, with a teacher joining them. After ...

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“Basement Jeff” by Agris Engelis

Submitted to Contest #235

My name is Jeff and I used to be an everyday office worker till She caught me. It has been 3 months since I last been outside. She keeps me locked down here. I was coming back from a pub one night, celebrated my best friend’s engagement. I was quite drunk, so when a dark Mercedes stopped next to me, I did not think too much about it. “Hi, where are you going so late?” I just laughed and bent into the window. “Heading home.” And she just smiled a sweet smile. “Do you need a lift?” And stupid old drunk me, could not say no to a pretty face and...

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“Lightning on the Lake ” by Megan Maclaine

Submitted to Contest #235

A drop of rain soaked into Erin’s cheek. It had been three weeks to the day since she’d stood, garbed in black beneath the beating sun, watching Henry’s family lower him into the ground. Not another drop had fallen since. But now, thick, charcoal clouds pushed nearer as she tied her shoes, eyes flashing to the ring that had barely had time to make an indent. Her chest tightened. Was it more rain that dripped from her face to the still-hot pavement? Or was she crying again? Thunder cracked in the distance. Erin scrambled wit...

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$250

Prize money

312

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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