The Thrill, The Agony

Hank Patton Sr., stood by the trophy case in his foyer showing his trophies and medals to anyone who stepped through his door. “This one is one of my favorites because I only won by .5 of a second.” The guest would “ooh and aah” at each boast

Then he would move on to a smaller case and call his son, Hank Jr. to join them. “Here he is, the next Patton to conquer any course he runs, right, J.R.?”

Hank Jr., who preferred to be called J.R., would lower his eyes, lips tightening as he nodded. Sometimes the father would emphasize his ambition for his son by admonishing his interest in other things. “Once J.R. sees the glory he can bring to himself and me, he’ll ditch those romantic notions of being an author or an artist.” It was a ritual repeated by Hank, Sr. in his relentless desire for his son to follow and garner achievements in the sport of cross-country running.

Hank Patton, Sr. was well-known throughout the country for records he held in the sport both in high school and college. His greatest achievement was leading his college team to win the NCAA championships two years in a row, but his pursuit for glory ended when he suffered a knee injury his last year in college, and it disabled him for life.

He earned the moniker of Hank the Great in the sports world. And he had a mindset toward life that reflected the way he ran. He regarded the cross-country courses as enemies. He ran over them with a determination to conquer and master them as king of the turf. Each time he won and received a medal or ribbon, it was a coronation to him.

His injury had sidelined him until his son was born. Now he had a new vision of glory. He began training J.R. at an early age and he took to running. Each time he met a goal set by his dad, Hank, Sr. would exude with pride. But there were other times when J.R. failed to do as well as expected.

“What’s the matter with you? You need to push, son! Don’t hold anything back, stretch those legs and know that when you win, you’ll be the king—just like me!”

One day he found J.R. at his desk writing in a journal instead of working out in their basement weight room. He slammed his fist on the desk. “How do you expect to ever make your time if you’re not strong. Now, get downstairs and get on the weights!”

After J.R. left, Hank opened his journal and read, “It’s not like a don’t like running. I do. I love the wind caressing my face. I relish the feel of the ground’s texture beneath my feet and the musky smell of the earth as I stride through the dirt. I want to write a song about it or paint the sky in the trees as it seems to move with each stride. My prize is knowing I can run whether I win or not.”

Hank threw the journal down and followed J.R. to the weight room. Hank’s voice rose as he spat his displeasure. “Son, I hope you realize how important the next race is. You may think you can win because you have before, but you must work harder. Don’t you realize what it means to live up to the Patton name? I don’t want any son of mine to not do his best, I want you to be winner, do you understand?”

“Yes, dad, I understand. I will do my best,” J.R. grunted as he lifted weights.

Hank patted his head, “That’s my boy! Make me proud!”

As Hank left, J.R. sucked in his breath and whispered to himself. “Sure, Dad, whatever makes you happy. It’s all about you, right? If I win, you win.”

The day of the state championships arrived, and everyone knew J.R. stood a good chance of setting a new individual record as well as clinching the championship for his high school team. All he had to do was run the 5K in less than 15 minutes. It was possible he might even set a national record.

Hank took J.R. aside. "I'm counting on you to do this. You can make the Patton name famous again. You can prove that you're a man by breaking the record and that you're as good as Hank the Great. Show me you deserve to be called my son. Now, go out there and conquer the field. Be first in the chute!"

“Sure, Dad,” J.R. smiled. “I think I can do something special today.”

As the race was about to begin, J.R. glanced at Hank, standing with his stopwatch in hand and cheering, “Go for it, J.R.” The high school fans chimed in and J.R. gave them a wave. Then, he looked at his father and gave him a thumbs up.

Hank clicked the stopwatch at the sound of the starting gun. He turned to the fans and said, “You’re really going to see something today!”

As the minutes ticked away, he began to pace at the finish line. When the watch registered to count down one minute, he could see the runners in the distance. His heart began to race as he saw J.R. well in the lead. “He’s going to do it!” he shouted.

The crowd joined him in shouting, “Go, J.R. go!”

J.R. approached the race chute, the ropes that force the runners to run in a straight line to reach the finish tape. J.R. reached the entry, then pulled up and came to a stop.

"What are you doing?," his father screamed. "You have the time. Get in the chute!"

J.R. doubled over, catching his breath and laughing. “I did it! I did it for me!” he gasped.

To everyone’s astonishment, the second-place runner passed J.R., entered the chute and took first place with a time of 15:30. J.R.’s team managed to win by the time his fellow team members logged.

J.R. never ran another race and his father retained his fame as the Patton known as Hank the Great.