on, Gobi,” he told her. He hurried down the hill, then raced up the next one. But he slowed just before he reached the top and moved as carefully and quietly as he could. He was tall and thin and dressed all in yellow – if Tommy and Julien looked back, they’d definitely see him. So he sprinted when he was out of sight, and moved quietly when he was visible at the top. And the other two runners didn’t look back.
The distance between them started to shrink. Dion ran down each hill and back up as fast as he could, then moved quietly across the top. Gobi somehow understood his intent, because she didn’t bark or yip at all. She was as silent as a ghost, though her tail wagged furiously. It was clear she thought this was the best game ever. Together they ran, and Tommy and Julien got closer and closer. But so did the finish line.
Finally, Dion crested the last hill. He was no more than a few hundred feet behind the other two. This time he crept down the hill as well, and together he and Gobi snuck up on the two runners, moving as fast as they dared.
Amazingly, Tommy and Julien didn’t look back. Were they that tired? Dion had had a lot of practice running in the heat – he was from Australia originally, so he knew all about hot days. Maybe Tommy and Julien weren’t as comfortable in the high temperatures. Whatever the reason, the gap between them kept shrinking. A hundred feet. Eighty feet. Sixty feet. Forty. Twenty.
Dion’s foot must have scuffed a rock, or maybe it was his shadow suddenly appearing near them, because Julien finally glanced back and saw him. Dion grinned. Too late!
He put on a burst of speed. Gobi barked and sped up to match him. Together they sprinted past Julien. Then past Tommy.
Dion saw Tommy’s eyes widen as they raced by. Tommy struggled to catch up, but staying out in front had worn him out. He just didn’t have enough strength left to match Dion’s sudden surge forward.
Dion charged past. He crossed the finish line first, with Gobi right beside him. The race volunteers all clapped and cheered. “That was amazing,” one of them told him. “You’re having a super race!”
Dion smiled and nodded. It was true. He’d come in third the first day and fourth the second, but today he’d come in first. That put him in really good shape. “I owe a lot of it to my little good luck charm here,” he said, kneeling down to ruffle Gobi’s fur. She barked and licked his face. “Isn’t that right, Gobi?”
When he straightened back up, though, Dion was all business. “Can I come by and talk to you later about what happened before the first checkpoint?” he asked the organiser. “I need to clear my head first.”
“Sure,” she agreed.
The organisers did take Dion seriously this time. It helped that other runners also confirmed what had happened. In the end, they adjusted Tommy’s time by five minutes. Dion thought it should have been more, but at least it was something.
Besides, he had finished first today. That was something too.
Dion wondered if tomorrow Tommy would go for the win from the start of the race to make up for not winning today.
Gobi didn’t seem to mind any of it. She was just happy to eat some of his food, drink some water, and then curl up beside him and go to sleep.
And Dion had to admit, he was getting used to having her there.
Dion had to force himself not to look back. It was for her own good, he kept telling himself. Today was going to be long, and hot. Gobi had done amazingly well so far, but there was no way she’d be able to handle the run today. Especially since there wouldn’t be any shade or any water. It was better for him to go without her. One of the race volunteers had agreed to keep Gobi safe today while Dion ran. She had also promised to bring the little dog to tonight’s campsite with her. But Dion still couldn’t stop hearing the sorrow and desperation in Gobi’s voice as she whined and whimpered and barked at him to return.
An hour later, Dion was still gritting his teeth. Only now it wasn’t because of Gobi. Something else was frustrating him – or someone else.
Everyone had heard about Dion finishing first yesterday, and he’d got a lot of congratulations from the other runners as they’d lined up that morning. Dion was feeling good, strong, and rested, and he took the lead right away. He had long legs, and they ate up the ground despite the heavy wind. But one runner was deliberately not passing Dion.
Tommy.
Running into the wind was hard. It took a lot of effort, and could easily drain even the strongest runner. But if you were running behind someone else, that person would take the wind instead of you. You’d be able to run more easily. It was called drafting and it wasn’t against the rules. The polite thing to do would be for two or more runners to take turns – first one ran in front and the others drafted, then they traded places. That way nobody had to fight the wind the whole way. It was more fair if everyone shared in the effort.
Tommy deliberately stayed right behind Dion. Not ten or even five feet behind either. Dion could practically feel Tommy’s breath on the back of his neck, that was how close they were. When he looked down, their two shadows were merged into a single long blur.
Which meant that Dion was doing all the work, the whole way. And Tommy was relaxing and saving his own energy for later.
All through the day, Dion stayed in the lead. And Tommy was right at his heels.
Then, finally, they reached the last of the day’s checkpoints. Dion was exhausted. And while he paused to drink some water there, that was when Tommy made his move.
Whoosh! It was like someone had strapped a rocket to Tommy’s back. When Dion slowed to a stop at the checkpoint, Tommy zoomed past. Now he was using all that strength he’d saved. And Dion didn’t have the energy to stop him.
Julien and Zeng appeared while Dion was still regathering his strength. They nodded at him but didn’t pause either. Instead they spotted Tommy up ahead and took off after him. It was clear that Julien and Zeng were hoping to catch or even pass Tommy, just like Dion had yesterday. Maybe they could, although Tommy now had a big lead – and fresh legs.
Dion kept running. What else could he do? But he was frustrated all over again. And he was wondering again if coming here had been a huge mistake. He was tired, so tired, and his legs ached and his head was swimming. Why did he want to keep doing this to himself? Maybe he should just quit. There was no way he could win, anyway.
But he kept running. He could barely feel his legs, and he felt like
