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My Dreams by Rich Kenah
Victoria dreams of being the first girl on the Boston Red Sox.
 When I was young I was a little different than most kids my age. While I
loved to play basketball and baseball in little league I never thought about
being a professional basketball player or playing baseball for the NY
Yankees. For as long as I remember, I always dreamed of running at the
Olympic Games for the United States of America. Today most kids dream about
being the next Michael Jordan. When I was a kid I dreamed about winning a
gold medal at the Olympics.I have to admit that I had no idea how difficult it would be to qualify for the Olympics. As I grew up I realized that if I wanted to fulfill my dream I would need to make many sacrifices. Because the Olympics only happen every four years and only the three best athletes in your event can win the chance to go to the Olympics, it is more difficult than I ever imagined. In fact in the history of the modern Olympics there have only been about 70 Americans who have represented the United States in my event.
People say that good things come to those who wait. Well I had waited a long time. I trained for about twenty years. In 1992 and 1996 I competed to make the US Olympic Team but I lost. Finally this year at the age of thirty I tried one more time to make the Olympics...and I did it. I qualified to compete at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. I can't begin to explain how proud I was to finally live out my lifelong dream. When I marched into the Olympic Stadium wearing the colors of the American Flag I thought about those days when I was a kid and dreamed of being part of the Olympics. I thought to myself it is possible. It is possible to make your dream a reality. So dream big because I am proof that if you do anything can happen. LINKS You may email Rich at rmkclk2000@aol.com Contact people are Carol Goodrow, Editor, KidsRunning.Com carol.kids@rodale.com and Mark Springer, Director of Grass Roots Programs, USATF mark.springer@usatf.org Prizes for the kick off theme have been donated by USATF, Runner's World, and KidsRunning.Com. Rich Kenah has donated 2 poster sized photos as well as his USATF and Olympic Pins to the Grand Prize Raffle. The photo donated by Rich is the signed PENN RELAYS photo shown above. The USATF pin is also pictured. It's attached to the photo. The top photo is of Rich Kenah at the start of the Grand Prix Final 800m in 1997 in Fukuoka, Japan.
  
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For the last ten years I have focused, as hard as I could, on my dream of
making the Olympics. Since I started training for the 800m, which is my best
event, I have run a total of about 35,000 miles. I have traveled well over 1
million miles to races all over the world to get ready for my chance at the
Olympics. I am very careful about what I put in my body so I never drink
soda or eat fatty foods and I practice each and every day. My
coach told me that to be good enough to run in the Olympics I needed to run
everyday. He says running is just like brushing your teeth, you need to do
it everyday. So the first thing I do everyday is brush my teeth. The
second thing I do everyday is I go outside and I run.
Editor's Note: Running and writing are more fun when they are combined. Warm up for our upcoming contest. Lace up your running shoes and get out the door. Start up slowly, then pick up the pace and have a great run. Cool down, drink and stretch, then break out that running journal and let 'er rip!
