Billy Mills Inspiration Essay Contest

Helen Lopez, age 10 (Valley Center, California) - 2nd place

For as long as I can remember, Billy Mills has been a inspiration to me.  He won the Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Games.  It was a big upset.  No American has won that event since.  He beat the favorites when nobody gave him a chance.

My name is Helen Lopez and I am ten years old.  I have been racing since I was three years old.  My brother, Stephen is five years older than me.  I used to watch his races.  On the night before a race, our family would eat a pasta dinner and watch a running movie.  Our first movie, and my favorite is about Billy Mills, it is called Running Brave.  It told about Billy Mills tough life on the Pine Ridge Reservation and his love of running.  I love to run too.  Billy Mills always liked to run on the trails by his house.  I have trails that I like to run on by my house.  When I race I don't always win, but I always try my hardest, just like Billy Mills.  Before you know it I started to beat my big brother.

When I was eight I qualified for the Junior Olympics in Spokane, Washington.  My family made it a holiday vacation.  It was very cold and I have never run in the snow before.  At the starting line I felt alone.  I didn't have spikes, I didn't know why runners were putting oil on their legs.  I forgot my gloves in the rental car.  During the race I slipped and fell down.  At the end, my mom asked what happened.  Where were my gloves.  Why did I have frozen tears?  But she was glad that I didn't quit and tried my best.  In the movie, Billy Mills kept running even when he was tired or didn't feel good. 

Last year I qualified for the Junior Olympics in Lawrence, Kansas.  My dad said, guess who is speaking at the opening ceremony.  I couldn't believe it when he told me it was Billy Mills.  I have read a story about him in a book about champions.  I have seen his real Olympic race finish on the internet, and now I was going to hear him speak.  I was happy and excited.  Before the opening ceremonies, my brother and I were goofing around on the hotel treadmill.  I was barefoot and in my wet bathing suit.  I fell down and got sucked into the machine.  It ripped off skin on my legs, hands, and gave me a bump on my head.  I didn't feel very good and I had trained very hard to get there.  I attended the ceremony and heard Billy Mills talk.  It was great.  I got inspired to improve over my time in Spokane.  The next morning it was so cold and I didn't wear my underarmor because I didn't want it to stick to my cuts.  I saw Billy Mills gate, I got my picture taken under it.  I saw his big cutout.  And guess what, this time I made All American.

We live in San Diego County, there are many Marines here.  Billy Mills was a Marine.  Sometimes I see the Marines in my races, I try to beat them because I know they train hard.  My brother and I are adopted.  My mom says that running is in our genes.  I think it is because I train hard and get inspired from my family and from the runners I watch at races and from Billy Mills. 

I am going to keep on running.  I am going to try to get a college scholarship in running or soccer.  I am going to try to go to the Olympics.  I am going to try my hardest, just like Billy Mills.  I want to find out what inspired Billy Mills to keep going when people thought didn't have a chance.  What made him shoot past those other runners like they were standing still.  What was he thinking about.  Was it his father, was it his family.  Was it his tough life, was it his training, was it the Marines.  Was it because no one thought he could do it, or was it just because runners had bumped him in the race and he was mad inside.  I would like to finish a race like he did.