The Championship
Everyone was prepping for the ACC Women's Cross Country Championship. Madeline was doing the same, but she was totally unaware of the outcome of the race, which was destined to happen.
Ready
She was ready with her hair pulled back in a pony and her shoes tied. She was confident that she was going to win this thing. She started the race tall and strong, but in midst of the championship, something unexpected left everyone gasp.
Madeline said...
She shared her story with the CBS News. She said, "I was running the race of my life. I was doing incredibly well. I was coming up that hill (to the finish line), I started to feel really fatigued. All of a sudden, I get this wave that comes over me and my legs just truly gave out from underneath me. I had no control. I really don’t remember falling, I remember being on the ground and being like, 'why am I on the ground? Get up.'"
Exhaustion
Madeline was hit by exhaustion all of a sudden and couldn't get up from the ground even after trying. Runners passed by her, and she felt the race slip from her fingers. She would have won, but her fatigued limbs gave up on her.
Evie and Rachel
As Evie Tate, another amazing runner saw Madeline and stopped on the track to pick Madeline up but she was unable to do so, singlehandedly. That is when the second runner, Rachel Pease pulled Madeline's other arm over her shoulder. They wanted to finish the race together with Madeline.
Madeline said in the CBS News,
"The great part that comes out of this is there are two amazing girls that helped me, who are completely selfless and just amazing people with amazing character."
Sportsmanship
But Madeleine was not able to cross the line as the medical staff whisked her away to treat her. Evie and Rachel are a real example of sportsmanship. They didn't care about winning the race, but rather valued humanity.
