MoCoRunning






Zahorodny Blacks Out
By: Kevin Milsted
Sunday, April 06, 2008
webmaster@mocorunning.com

Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

When Bruce Banner gets angry, he transforms into the green, muscle-bound Incredible Hulk. When Wil Zahorodny gets angry, he grows wings on his feet.

It is not characteristic of Zahorodny to lose his cool during a race, but after watching his teammates run 2:06, 2:10, and 2:08, far slower than they have proven capable of, he was downright annoyed. When he had a sloppy exchange with his teammate, already in seventh place, something from deep inside of him rose to the surface. He was about to push his body beyond anything he had ever experienced.

Most athletes know the feeling of achieving a new level of fitness and breaking through personal barriers. Zahorodny knew that feeling as well as anyone. What he experienced at the Crimson Tide Classic on Saturday was more than that. His frustration fueled his adrenaline until he was sprinting in a daze. Thoughts of physical limitations escaped him. He was blind to the world around him. All he knew was that there were six runners in front of him, and that was not acceptable.

He picked off runners one by one until there were no more. Even then, getting to the finish line was the most important thing in the world. It's too bad that he can't remember finishing the race.

Perhaps he blacked out, or perhaps he went temporarily insane. All he remembers is that he was in a tight sprint to the finish with another runner and the next moment he was shaking hands with his opponent at the end of the track. Usually he uses the crowd's response to fuel him down the final stretch, but he can't remember if anyone was cheering. Usually he feels for the presence of his opponents to assure he finishes first, but he can't recall where he finished relative to the other runner. As if his body entered survival mode, all five of his senses were overridden by a sixth sense - an unexplainable instinct to get to the finish line before another.

With a quick handshake from his opponent, he snapped back into consciousness. He was just Wil again, happy that he won the race for his teammates, despite the fact that they had not given him good position. He was clocked at 1:52 to bring his team to first place in 8:16.

Amazed by Zahorodny's effort and sacrifice, Damascus's coach decided to take him out of the open events that he was scheduled to run. After all, he is just a kid and one heroic effort was enough action for this episode.






NameComments

SBtrack
Sunday, April 06, 2008
11:17:31 PM
I love running angry, you can go so fast. I give my props to Will, he's one of the most talented runners I've ever seen.

Anonymous
Sunday, April 06, 2008
11:36:55 PM
omg he's a monster

Anonymous
Monday, April 07, 2008
01:05:40 AM
the coolest thing is that he is like the most calm looking kid during school. if you saw him, you wouldnt think he is like that

Anonymous
Monday, April 07, 2008
08:26:14 AM
What a Beast, Mad Props, that was total pwnage.

Anonymous
Monday, April 07, 2008
10:37:07 AM
If you knew Wil you'd know he's the most competative kid ever. Seriously, he wont lose.

Anonymous
Monday, April 07, 2008
02:24:03 PM
He works so hard for his team. He is a true team player

Anonymous
Thursday, April 10, 2008
08:18:56 AM
one thing in this article is wrong. he did run the open 800m

Anonymous
Thursday, April 17, 2008
04:58:19 PM
yea he ran in the open 800 (around 1:58) and the third leg of the 4x4 towards the end of the meet


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