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(solemn melody)

(people laughing)

(birds chirping)

(indistinct chatter)

- [Heidi] Are you our new coach?

- Are you a member of
the Orange Hills Academy

girls cross-country team?

- Yeah.

- Then, yes, I'm your new coach.

Good afternoon, ladies.

My name is Courtney Smith-Donnelly,

I'm gonna be teaching biology
and science this fall.

I'll also be your new
cross-country coach this season.

It's nice to meet you.

Two quick questions.

First, who all here was
on the team last year?

Please raise your hands.

Everybody?

Nobody here is new?

- No.

- Why no freshman?

- The middle school team
wasn't very good last year

and none of the girls wanted to run

plus nobody recruited them.

- I see.

- Do you mind me asking,

but have you ever coached
cross-country before?

- No.

No, this will be my first time.

By the way, how far is your race?

- 5K.

- 5K?

What's 5K, how far is that?

- 5,000 meters.

- 3.1 miles.

- And this is a high school team, right?

- [Katelyn] Right.

- Thank you, good, that
is helpful information.

This second question may
seem a bit premature,

but do you girls wanna
be a strong contender

to win the state meet this year?

- We finished 10th last year.

- Yeah, Eastern Valley killed us.

- Eastern Valley killed everybody.

- You finished 162 points
behind Eastern Valley,

they've got four of their top seven girls

returning this year,

last year you all had three freshman,

two sophomores, a junior, and
a senior in your top seven

which means that six of you are back.

Coach Holloway was your coach,
he was here for five years

before that this program
was run by Coach Pratt

who founded it in 1982 and
ran it until he retired.

Orange Hills Academy is an
all-girls Christian school

and a member of the Private
Schools Association,

but has never won the state
meet, that sound about right?

- Yeah.

- Which takes me back to my question,

do you girls wanna be a strong contender

to win the state meet this year?

- Well, yeah.

- Okay, I heard one yeah, anybody else?

- [Girls] Yeah.

- Okay, that sounds convincing enough,

for the state meet then we shall train.

Before I get your names
and some more information,

let's just take a little jog here.

Do a lap around the field,
let me watch you run.

Just go very easy, okay?

- Okay, girls, let's go.

(triumphant melody)

Your name is?

- Kristen Sims.

- Kristen, did you win state last year?

- No, I finished sixth.

- Yeah, I don't understand
how you didn't win state

because if what you just ran was easy,

when you're on hard,
you must be pretty fast.

- Well, I ran track in
the track in the spring

and I've been training
since the season ended,

so I'm in good shape.

- All right.

The next time I ask you to
go easy, just go easy, okay?

All right, girls, gather up.

One by one, I want you to
tell me your name and grade.

- Anna Glass, junior.

- Heidi Olson, junior.

- Kristen Sims, senior.

- Shelby Opal, sophomore.

- Katelyn Vann, sophomore.

- Rebecca Shackleford, sophomore.

- [Rachel] Rachel Ramirez, junior.

- [Julianne] Julianne Barnett, sophomore.

- Oh, hey, how was cross-country practice?

- Easy, all we did was run 30 minutes.

- Well, what do you
think of the new coach?

- I don't like her.

- Her?

- Yeah.

Dad, she's right out of
college, never coached before,

and she doesn't know what she's doing.

- What?

- Yeah, I felt like I was walking today.

- Why didn't you pick up the
pace, make it a good workout?

- I tried to, but she kept
telling me to slow down.

- Well, when she doesn't
know what she's doing,

you just do what you know.

- Oh, I will, you can count it.

- What about Anna and the other girls?

- They ran easy.

I tried to get them to go
faster, but they wouldn't.

- Why did Holloway have
to take that other job?

- I miss him.

- And what's Prader doing hiring a rookie?

Oh, don't worry, I'll have
a talk with your new coach.

- I'm telling you, Chase
wants to ask you out.

- He does not.

- Yes, he does, honest.

- How do you know?

- Word gets around.

- Well, I can't even if he does.

- [Katelyn] Why not?

- Because my dad is not
going to let me date

at 15 years old.

- Mine will.

- [Shelby] Mine won't.

- How come yours will?

- 'Cause mine doesn't care.

- What about your dad?

- He doesn't care either, but my mom does,

she cares about everything.

- Would she let you date?

- No.

- [Shelby] Why not?

- 'Cause I'm only 15.

- See!

- Well, I wish my dad cared.

- How come he doesn't?

- I mean, you know where
he lives, need I say more?

- How long have they been divorced?

- [Katelyn] Too long.

- Do you see him often?

- Not much, two or three times a year.

- Does your mom care about what you do?

- Sort of, but she's busy
working and dating around.

He's gonna ask you out.

- To run cross-country and be successful,

you need two things,
endurance and strength.

To win the state meet,

we're gonna need one other
thing and that's time,

time to train and build up
to the competitive level

that we're gonna need to be at.

It's very, very important
that you make every practice,

that you're eating right,

you're getting good sleep at night.

Starting things off, we're
gonna run slow and easy,

so we prevent any injuries.

Any questions?

- Where do you want us to run today?

- I marked up a course
like you ran last year,

just follow my flags,
you're gonna start here,

run down the road, do the big loop,

in the back, you'll see my one mile mark,

keep coming around, two
mile mark's just up here.

Just after the two mile mark,

I've got you set to run up this big hill,

go all the way to the top, come back down,

and do the whole thing again.

- Coach, I hate hills, do we
really have to do it two times?

- Yes, and just think, in the near future,

you'll be doing this
whole thing three times.

(girl clapping)

- Woo!

(girls laughing)

- State meet's at
Equestrian Park this year,

any of you girls ever
run that course before?

- No.

- No?

Make sure you do that hill two times.

Remember, we're running
slow and easy, not hard.

Oh, wait, wait, there's one more thing,

and this is really important,
I'm only gonna say this once,

you've got one goal this year,

that's to win the state meet.

Remember the goal.

- Good afternoon, Neal Sims.

- [Courtney] Courtney Smith-Donnelly.

- My daughter's Kristen.

So, you're the new coach?

- Yes, sir.

- I heard that you've never
coached cross-country before,

you must feel like a
kid with a new toy then.

You know, we've got a great program here,

it has been for years.

Now, we don't have a lot
of girls on the team,

but this group, they won
the regional meet last year,

and I think they could be top
five in the state this year,

if they get some good training.

- Well, I plan to do the best I can.

- Yeah, speaking of plan, do you have one?

Do you know what needs to be done?

- I have an idea.

- Well, Kristen could be a big help.

She's got a shot at the state
individual title this year

and she'll have to train real hard.

Now, I work with her in the off-season

and well, Coach Holloway,
he was a great coach.

He worked 'em real hard.

- Yeah, I don't believe
running girls in the ground

is proper training.

Gonna take care of these girls

and we'll still be competitive.

Nice to meet you.

- [Ken] The policy of this
school is to first offer

all coaching jobs to teachers on staff.

- [Neal] But she doesn't
know what she's doing.

- Well, her background looked
pretty impressive to me.

- Her background looked good?

What, did she run a year in middle school?

- Come on, Neal.

- You know what the problem is

with this athletic department?

You just don't care
about the girls enough.

My daughter could get a scholarship,

but you treat cross-country
like some second-rate sport.

- I'm just following the
policy of the school.

- Ken, it is still summer,
you could find another coach,

one who knows how to
train and do it right.

- Coach Donnelly just started,

why don't you give her a chance?

- Just from what they've done so far,

that is enough for me to see.

My daughter has to do her
own workouts on the side,

we need to get Holloway back
here or somebody like him.

- Neal, look, we're a school,

we are not a cross-country institution.

We hired this woman to
fill a position in science

that we knew was coming open in the fall,

when I sent out a letter seeking
a new cross-country coach,

she responded, her
credentials looked good,

so we hired her, she is the coach.

Now, you have a problem with that,

take it up with the principal.

- Rebecca, didn't I ask you
to do the dishes after dinner?

- Oh, yeah, sorry, I forgot.

- You forgot?

- Yes, I'm sorry.

- How did you forget?

You have nothing to do all day except run.

- I'm sorry, I really forgot.

- Well, what if I forgot
to make meals at night,

what about that, huh?

I mean, I asked you to do one thing

and you can't even do it?

Now, get out there and do it.

- Hi.
- Oh, hi.

Anna!

- [Anna] Coming.

- Oh, perfect, you're both here.

- [Anna] What's up?

- I'm about to work out,
you guys should come with.

- Now?

But we have practice later today.

- Yeah, but it won't be hard.

We need to get a good workout in.

- I don't wanna do two workouts today.

- Heidi, we could do really
well at state this year,

like top five, maybe higher,
but we have to train not jog.

- She said she wanted to make sure

we didn't get injured early.

- Okay, but did you get injured

doing any of Holloway's
workouts last year?

- No, but I had sore muscles a lot.

- Yeah, some of his
workouts were really hard.

- Yeah, but the hard workouts

are the only way that
we're gonna get any better.

Now, come on, let's go.

- I think we should just do
what the coach wants us to do.

- Okay, look, we're not
getting to state meet with her.

It's the first time she's ever coached

and she doesn't know anything.

So, let's go.

- All right, good job.

Good job, good job,
everybody, same time tomorrow.

Heidi, you okay?

- Yeah, I'm fine.

- You look a little stiff to me.

- I'm okay, I may be a little tight,

I just need to stretch more.

- You're going easy out there, right?

'Cause this is the exact
thing I'm trying to avoid.

- Yeah, coach, I'm going easy.

- Okay, well, keep me posted,

let me know if it bothers you tomorrow.

- I will.

- We shouldn't have run with
Kristen 'cause now look.

- I'll ice it tonight, it should be okay.

- What we did with you today was too hard.

- No, it wasn't, you're
just not in shape yet.

- Shelby, what's up?

- [Shelby] Nothing much.

- Where you going?

- My house.

- Don't you have running practice?

- Yeah, but that's later today.

- Okay, then why don't you
come on up and hang with us?

- No, i can't.

- What do you mean you can't?

- I can't.

- You can't what, hang with us?

- You know what I mean.

- No, I don't know what you mean.

- What she means is that she can't

and she has a very good
reason why she can't

and you should know what she means

by saying she can't, understand?

- No.

- Too bad, see ya.

- Hey, Shelby.

- I can't.

- How's your leg today?

- It's okay, it feels better.

- Still sore?

- A little, but it does feel better.

- We got another long run today,

so just take it easy out there.

- I will.

- How about you, Anna?

- Oh, I'm fine.

- You know, I just thought of something.

Whenever I was in high
school, I played basketball,

and I'd get sore muscles a lot

and then I figured it out,

it was always on days after
I'd done a double workout,

so I know just how you feel.

(indistinct arguing)

Okay, girls.

For more than a month, we've
been building a foundation.

Today, we start a key workout

we're gonna be doing a lot this year

called cruise intervals.

Each interval is one mile
and you run it at tempo pace.

Tempo pace is approximately
30 seconds slower per mile

than your current 5K race pace.

You're gonna run one
mile, rest one minute,

run your second mile, rest one minute,

then run your third and final mile.

You're gonna start
right here at this flag,

run the mile course that
we've got marked off,

finish right there at that flag.

First flag out there,
it's a hundred meters.

To me, this is the most
important part of the race,

I want you to hit it
in the time I tell you

and maintain that pace
for the rest of the way.

We use our watches to
make sure we're on pace,

there's no sprinting
in at the end of this.

This is a tempo run,
even pacing all the way.

- Hey, coach, what do
you mean by even pacing?

- Do you know what pace you ran

your mile splits in last year?

- No, ma'am.

- I do.

My second mile is usually 25

to 30 seconds slower than my first.

- Which tells me you went out too fast.

- I finished sixth in state.

- But if you would've run an even pace,

then you probably could've
finished even higher.

- Do you know when a car
gets its best gas mileage?

When it's on the interstate
cruising at 65 miles per hour

not when it's speeding up and slowing down

and the same thing is true with running.

In cross-country, a lot of
these kids go out very fast,

they settle into a pace,
and they all slow down.

That's not how we wanna run.

We wanna go out at the correct pace,

maintain that pace for the
entire way, even pacing.

- Okay, check my chart for
your hundred meter split,

your mile split.

- 24 seconds and a 6:24 mile?

- That's right.

- I can walk faster than that.

- Anna, you see your splits?

- Yes, ma'am, 25 and 6:40.

- [Donnelly] Once you've got your pacing,

let's get on the line.

- Well, this will be easy.

- Tempo runs build endurance,
they're very important,

probably the most important
workout that we'll do,

but for them to be effective,

you have got to do them right.

Do not, I repeat, do not run faster

than the pacing I've given you,

it defeats the purpose of a tempo run.

Let's run the test hundred
meters to check our pacing.

Mark!

Set!

Go!

Stop, stop, all of you are too fast.

Anna, too fast, Heidi, too fast, Rebecca,

Kristen, way too fast, all right.

All of you back on the line.

Okay, I'm gonna let you go

the full hundred meters this time.

When you get there, you're
two seconds too fast,

stop, come back, start again.

If you're within a second on either side,

adjust slight, keep going.

Mark.

Set.

Go.

- 6:11, that's 13 seconds
faster than I want you to run.

- This is too easy.

- This is a tempo run not a mile race,

you gotta get the pacing right.

- I literally cannot run that slow.

- Rest one minute and go
again, this time hit 6:24.

6:42, way to go, Anna, rest
one minute, then go again.

Come on, Heidi.

6:51, good job, Heidi.

- I'm three seconds slow.

- No, come on, this is your
first try, you're close.

Good job, Rebecca, good
job, Katelyn, 6:58.

Way to go, Shelby, 7:04, right on pace.

Kristen, 6:15, still fast, too fast.

- No, it's not, it's too
slow, I'm not even tired.

- You're supposed to be running a 6:24,

you've got one more,
do it right this time.

- You can't kick Kirsten
Sims off the team,

she is the best runner in
the history of this school

and it's her senior year.

- She's defiant.

- Let's make arrangements for her

to do her own workouts then
and we'll keep everybody happy.

- No, I'm sorry, Mr. Prader,
it does not work that way.

- This has gotten out of hand.

- Agreed, it should've been
taken care of a long time ago,

but I'm not her parent,
I'm just her former coach.

- I want you to put her back on the team.

- Sorry, I can't do it, she's off.

Kristen can run track and
get her scholarship there

and it's not gonna be a problem

because I'm not coaching track.

- You probably won't be coaching

cross-country here next year either.

- Mr. Prader, you cannot
let parents dictate

how you do your job or how I do mine.

Kristen doesn't wanna do the workouts,

so she's off the team.

Look, if you're gonna fire me,

do it after the season, but not now.

I've already five weeks
of my time this summer

and so have these girls.

- If you think that Neal
Sims is gonna let this go,

you're in for a big surprise.

- And if Neal Sims were
the coach of this team

and Anna Glass were talking
about, not doing workouts,

what do you think he'd do about that?

Make sure you ask him next time he calls.

Kristen Sims is off the team.

(somber melody)

- Where are the other girls?

- They quit.

- What?

- They quit.

- All of them?

- Yeah.

- Why?

- Kristen got 'em all to quit.

- She tried to get us to quit, too.

- Yeah, but we don't
want to, we wanna run.

- So, it's just the five of you?

- Yeah.

- And everybody else quit?

- Yes, ma'am.

- We only need five girls to score a meet,

so let's make two new rules right now.

Make a fist like this.

Good.

Put all your fists together side by side.

We're a team.

Okay?

And nobody on this team quits,
rule number one, agreed?

- Yes, ma'am.

- Second rule, nobody, I
mean, nobody ever gets sick.

All right, let's make one other rule.

Why was Kristen dismissed from this team

and why did all those other girls quit?

Maybe because for them
it was all about self,

let's change that right now.

1 Corinthians 10:31,

whether you eat or drink, whatever you do,

do all to the glory of God.

10:31.

- What?

- 1 Corinthians 10:31,

whether you eat or drink or run,

whatever you do, do unto the glory of God.

Okay, that's gonna take
the focus off self,

it's gonna put it on the
one it's supposed to be on

and that's the lord.

What do you guys say, 10:31?

- You guys still running?

- [Heidi] Yeah.

- How's practice?

- It's okay.

- We're sorry you're not there.

We have our first meet
tomorrow, are you coming?

- Yeah, right, I'll see you guys in track.

- Shelby.

Go out with me this weekend.

- What?

- Go out with me this weekend.

- I can't.

- Can't or won't?

- Can't.

- Why?

- I have a meet.

- Those are in the morning,
I'm talking about at night.

- I can't.

- Why?

- You don't get it, do you?

- Get what?

- My dad won't let me date yet.

- He doesn't have to know.

Just walk down to my house

tomorrow night around six o'clock.

I'll be waiting for you.

- I don't know.

- Six o'clock.

- I can't.

- Don't be late.

- [Heidi] Hey, did you
hear about Savannah?

- What about her?

- Jesse told me she started
smoking weed this summer.

- What?

- That's what Jesse said.

- Is she sure?

- Well, her and Savannah were
hanging out over the summer

and they met a couple of guys,

Savannah started dating one of
them and he got her into it.

- Is she still dating him?

- No, but she's still smoking.

- And Jesse's sure?

- Yeah.

- Man, we used to be so close to Savannah.

- Yeah, but...

She's changed.

Somebody just needs to talk to her.

- She sits behind me in history.

- Hey, coach, what are we doing today?

- We're going easy, right?

- I'm nervous.

- What about?
- Coach.

- How's everybody doing?

- Good, but what are we doing today?

- About five miles.

- On the day before the meet.

- [Donnelly] We're going for
a ride for about five miles,

everybody hop in.

- What's this?

- This is today's practice.

- We're gonna play golf?

- Is that what you're here for?

- No, really, are we gonna play golf?

- Really, we are gonna play golf.

- Hey, coach, I've been
meaning to ask you,

did you ever run
cross-country in high school?

- Yeah, I did.

- Where you any good?

- I was okay.

- So, not that good, huh?

- Not that good is not that
good, but okay is okay, right?

- Right.

- I think the more appropriate
question at the moment

is how good am I at mini-golf?

("Beautiful Warrior Girl" by Allie Ray)

♫ Someone said you'll never make it

♫ Someone else said you
might as well give up

♫ And the words you've heard so often

♫ Try to define until you've had enough

♫ The truth is such a different story

♫ It starts with love and it never ends

♫ You're a beautiful warrior girl

♫ Says the maker of all the world

♫ And he came to set you
free forever and permanently

♫ And nothing they can
say that matters anyway

♫ 'Cause the king of all the world

♫ Says you're a beautiful warrior girl

- You should have seen
the girls golfing today,

they had the best time.

- I'm glad for 'em.

- Me too, it was good team bonding

plus I think it'll help
alleviate some nerves.

- There is a lord.

- Okay, you stay on mark
'til a hundred meters,

let's check our watches just
to make sure we're on pace.

We're gonna run a couple
of starts before the race

just to make sure we got our pacing down.

All right, pacing for today.

Anna, 25 seconds and a 6:40 mile,

Heidi, 25 and a half seconds in a 6:48.

- Wait, Coach, you want me to run a 6:40

first mile in the race today?

- Yes.

- That's too slow, I need to run faster.

- I want you to run a 6:40
all three miles today.

Remember, even pacing.

- Coach, that's my tempo
pace, I mean, I'll get killed.

- No, you won't, you'll finish fine.

- I could be in the top 10 today.

- I want you to run the
pacing I'm telling you to.

- Why?

- Remember the goal.

- But coach?

- Anna.

Many times in God's word,
he asks us to trust him,

even though we don't understand

or we don't know what's going on

and just like that I'm
asking you to trust me

and remember the goal.

- Yes, ma'am.

- Okay.

Okay, Rebecca, Katelyn, 26 and 6:56,

Shelby, 26 and a half and 7:04.

(people cheering)

- Rebecca, you have to get out of there

a lot faster than what you did.

I kept telling you to pick it up,

what was wrong with you today?

- Nothing.

- Well, you know you can't get caught back

in the pack like that.

I mean, look where you came in, come on.

- I just ran how the
coach wanted me to run.

- Well, if you're gonna run like that,

there is no point in
even being on this time.

- I just did what she
said, give me a break.

- You were awful.

- Rebecca, you ran a nice race today.

- I ran horrible.

- No, you ran just like I wanted you to

and you were right on pace, good job.

Hey.

Good job.

- Hey, coach, may I have a word with you?

- [Donnelly] Yeah.

- Why did you have Anna run so slow today?

She finished 37th, she
could've been top five.

- She ran a very smart
race, she did a great job,

she was right on pace,
and I'm proud of her 37th.

- Yeah, but, coach, this is
not what we signed up for.

- What did you sign up for, Mr. Glass?

- [Glass] Well, not coming in
37th when she can be top five.

- Winning state takes
training and patience,

today wasn't about winning.

- Then what was it about?

Why are we running if
we're not running to win?

- We're running to do our best

and if that means winning, great,

but if that means coming
in 37th, that's fine, too.

Anna did a great job based on the training

that she's been doing and on
the pace that I've given her.

- It looked like she
was jogging out there.

- Cross-country is a lot
like a puzzle, Mr. Glass,

you gotta put it together
one piece at a time.

- Yeah, well, 37th is
not the desired result.

- No, it's not, but a 6:40 mile pace was

and your daughter did that beautifully.

You should tell her that some
time before this day ends.

Excuse me.

- I don't know about this woman.

- Neal Sims has already talked

to the principal and the board.

- [Chase] Hey.

- I heard from every parent this morning

before I finished my first cup of coffee,

they say you deliberately had the girls

run really slow in the race,
now why would you do that?

- Because that's the only
way they'll get faster.

- What?

- Because that's the only way
that they're gonna get faster.

- That doesn't make sense.

- Cross-country is a lot like
Christianity, Mr. Prader,

it doesn't make a lot of sense.

For example, the way up is down.

- What's that supposed to mean?

- Well, do you remember
in the bible when it says,

"Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord,

"that he may exalt you in due time?"

Humble yourself that he make exalt you.

The way up is down, it's the
same thing with cross-country,

in order to get faster, you
have to train somewhere.

- Coach, I need an explanation,

these parents they deserve one.

- No disrespect, sir, but
these parents have no idea

what it takes to win,

they think the only way you get faster

is to run yourself into
the ground, kill yourself.

No, I just told you to get
faster, you have to train slower,

this may not make sense to you,

it may not make sense to these parents,

it may not even make
sense to these runners,

but by the time state meet
rolls around, it will.

Now, if you'll excuse me,
I have a class to teach.

- Hey, Savannah, you know we only have

five girls on our cross-country team,

you should come out for it,

the coach would totally let you join.

- What?

- Come out for
cross-country, you'd like it.

- You're joking.

- No, it's a great sport

and there are a lot of positives to it.

- What's positive about
running all the time

and getting tired and sweaty?

- I mean, it's healthy for
one, it's good exercise,

keep you out of trouble,
get to be part of a team.

- No, thanks.

- Where are the other girls?

- [Anna] Oh, they're coming.

Coach, can I talk with you a minute?

- Yeah, of course.

Actually, I got something
for you and the girls.

- Oh, cool, thank you.

- You're welcome, what's up?

- Well, I have a friend
I wanna try and help

and we used to be the best of friends

and then she started hanging
out with a different crowd

and she's into things she shouldn't be.

I feel if I say something,

she's just gonna push me further away.

- If it's on your heart to
talk to her, then I would.

- Well, I actually did
ask her in class today

if she wanted to join our team.

- Yeah, what she'd say?

- No, she's not interested

and I'm mean that's not really

what I wanted to talk to her about,

I don't know, I feel like
she's gonna reject what I say.

- Well, if you're worried
about upsetting your friend,

just remember, Jesus was perfect,

people hated him, so
you'll be in good company.

Think about that for a second, Anna.

Jesus Christ came to
earth, God in human flesh,

perfect, sinless, always
said the right thing,

did the right thing, died
on the cross for our sins,

was buried, rose again,
and what was the result?

Most people hated him

and when I was a junior in high school,

one of my friends shared
the gospel with me

and God let me see that I was a sinner

and I needed a savior, so
don't be afraid of rejection,

just talk to your friend,
the Lord sees your heart.

- Thanks, coach.

- And Anna?

If talking to her doesn't work,

there is one more thing you can do.

- [Katelyn] What are
we doing today, coach?

- [Donnelly] Cruise intervals.

- [Katelyn] Again?

- [Donnelly] I know
how much you love them.

- [Heidi] They're okay,
we just do them a lot.

- [Donnelly] Yeah, but today
we do them with a twist.

- [Katelyn] Ooh, what's that?

- [Donnelly] Today, we're
gonna do them five times.

- [Katelyn] What?

- [Donnelly] You girls can
do this, I have faith in you.

- [Heidi] Same pace as the others.

- [Donnelly] Yeah, same pace.

- [Rebecca] I'm not gonna
be able to do the fifth one.

- [Anna] Me either.

- [Katelyn] I won't be
able to do it, coach,

it'll be too hard.

- But you will try, right?

Right?

♫ There will be a time for rest

♫ It's not today

♫ Maybe a time to just give
up and turn and walk away

♫ Every choice will change your future

♫ Every day is part of the plan

♫ To get you to the best in you

♫ So you realize you can

♫ Run on

♫ Every step has brought you here

♫ Run on

♫ And the finish line is near

♫ Just run on

♫ Keep on going, just run on

♫ Don't stop moving, just run on

♫ Run on, run on

♫ Just run on

♫ Keep on going, just run on

♫ Don't stop moving, just run on

♫ Run on

♫ Run on

- Good job today, good job,
everybody, that was awesome.

- Coach, that was hard.

- [Donnelly] But you did it.

- Yeah, but it was really hard.

- Well, winning state meet
is gonna be really hard,

but it's gonna be such a great feeling,

you're never gonna forget it.

- Coach, I was dying on that last one.

- But you did it.

- Yeah, but I was about
five seconds slower

than I was supposed to be.

- But you're gonna get better,
we're gonna keep working,

and you're doing great,
all of you are doing great.

- Hey, coach, are you sure
you know what you're doing

because my mom sure doesn't think so.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean for
it to come out like that.

I said I was sorry.

- All right, gather
around here for a minute.

There is a story in the bible

where a 12 year old girl had died

and as was custom for that day,

people gathered outside
the house and were crying.

When Jesus approached, he
said, "Why are you weeping?

"She's not dead, but asleep."

The people laughed at him,

then Jesus went inside and
raised the girl from the dead.

Any of you girls familiar with that story?

- Yeah, I've heard it before.

- Me too.

- When Jesus said the girl was sleeping,

the bible says they laughed him to scorn.

They laughed at him.

Mocked him, ridiculed him,

were probably hateful towards him,

said he didn't know what
he was talking about,

didn't know what he was doing,

do any of you girls know
why they did this to him?

- No, ma'am.

- Because Jesus Christ did things

the exact opposite of the world.

The world was going in this direction,

he was going in that one.

You see, when you follow
Christ in this life,

you are either going against the world

or in the opposite direction of it,

but you're never going with it.

As a result, people will
mock you, make fun of you,

ridicule you, hate you without cause,

they won't understand.

They won't think you
know what you're doing.

So, just because we may
be training differently

than you did last year

or running our races in what
seems to be a strange way,

different from every other team,

doesn't mean it isn't
going to be effective.

Remember the goal.

One other thing about that story,

after Jesus went and raised
that girl from the dead,

what did he do afterwards?

Did he go out front like a bigshot saying,

"What was that you were laughing at?

"What were you saying about me?"

No.

No, if I know Jesus, he
slipped out the backdoor.

Quietly, saying nothing,

even though he could've said something,

and that shows the great
character and humility of Christ.

That's the kinda person we wanna be like.

Great job today.

(indistinct chatter)

- Savannah, Savannah, can
I talk to you for a sec?

- I guess.

- I heard that you started smoking.

- No, I didn't.

- Savannah, come on.

- Look, a lot of girls smoke.

The bible doesn't say you can't.

- Savannah, that--

- You don't understand, you've
probably never tried it.

- I don't have to try something

to know if it's right or wrong.

- I told you a lot of girls smoke,

a lot of girls in this Christian school,

I think about a ton more
do in public school.

- That doesn't make it right.

- Like I said, the bible
doesn't say anything about it.

- Savannah, an alcoholic
starts with one drink,

a drug addict starts with one joint,

it's pretty easy to tell
if it's right or wrong.

- You know, that's exactly why

I don't hang around you anymore,

you're just so perfect and judgemental.

- Hey, coach, Katelyn's
not doing very well.

- [Donnelly] What's wrong
with her, is she sick?

- No, it's not that,

her father is supposed to come
watch her run this weekend,

but now he's not.

- Yeah, she hasn't seen
him in about five months

and it's been really hard on her.

- She's really hurting.

- We thought maybe you could talk to her.

- Yeah, yeah, of course, where is she?

You over here praying or something?

- Praying, no, it's
more like or something.

- I heard about your dad
not being able to make it.

- All the other girls
have families and I don't,

my parents divorced and I
don't get to see my dad,

that's not fair.

- Well, believe it or not,
I know exactly how you feel.

- Do you really?

- Yeah, my parents got
divorced when I was 11

and moved to cities that
were four hours apart.

- Mine are four states apart.

- I'm sorry.

- That's all anybody can say.

- Well, maybe your dad
can come to another meet.

- That's what he said last year.

- And?

- He never made it.

- What's your dad do for work?

- He's a heart surgeon.

- So, it's pretty tough
for him to get away.

- That's what he always says.

- You know, Katelyn, I never picked up

on the fact that this bothered you,

you're kind of the comedian of our team.

- Yeah, well, I have to do
something to keep my mind off it.

I gotta get ready for practice.

- Okay, starting at this flag,

running around the world up to my flag

at the top of that
hill, that's 300 meters.

- No one told me were gonna do

300 meter repeats up that hill.

Coach, why?

- Because that hill is your best friend

and when you've got a best friend,

you spend time with them, right?

- No.

- Okay, we're doing 16 of these today.

- 16, coach, that's three miles worth.

- You got this, you run up at tempo pace,

you walk back down to start, you go again,

sounds like a good time to me.

♫ Run on

♫ Every step has brought you here

♫ Run on

♫ And the finish line is near

♫ Just run on

♫ Keep on going, just run on

♫ Don't stop moving
- Good job, girls.

♫ Just run on

♫ Run on

♫ Run on

♫ Just run on

♫ Keep on going, just run on

♫ Don't stop moving, just run on

♫ Run on

♫ Run on

- I hate hills.

- Me too.

- [Donnelly] Good job today, girls.

- Thanks, coach.

- Hey, Shelby, you were a
little off on your pacing today,

you seemed kinda distracted to me.

- Yeah, maybe a little,
I'll do better tomorrow.

- Well, when a sophomore in
high school is distracted,

it usually means one thing.

- There is this one boy.

- Do your parents know about him?

- Well--

- Hey, girl, stop right there.

Don't do anything behind
your parents' back,

keep everything up front
and honest with them.

- Why do you say that?

- Let me give you an example,
what did we do today?

- Hill repeats.

- How many did we do?

- 16.

- And how many would you have
done if I wasn't watching?

- I would've done 16.

- Would you really?

Because I bet you could've been tempted

to stop after the twelfth.

- They did get pretty hard.

- But because I was here
watching, you kept going.

- Right?

- So, it's the same thing with boys.

If you feel like your
parents aren't watching,

you might be tempted
to do the wrong thing,

but you don't wanna do that,

you wanna keep everything up
front and honest with them,

it's the difference between doing

12 hill repeats and doing 16.

(door creaking)

Dr. Vann, please.

This is Courtney Smith-Donnelly,

I'm his daughter Katelyn's
cross-country coach.

Thank you.

Hi, Dr. Vann, this is
Katelyn's cross-country coach,

how are you?

Fine, thank you, I know you're busy,

so I'll just get right to the point.

Katelyn's not doing well.

No, no, she's not sick.

She just...

She really misses you

and I think it would mean a lot to her

if you could make it out to her meet

to see her run this year.

Well, we've got one meet left

and then state meet if we qualify.

Regional meet is a week from Saturday.

Oh.

Well, like I said, I just...

I think it would mean a lot to her

if you could make it out once
to see her run this year.

Who do I think I am?

I'm a nobody.

Sir, I'm sorry I bothered you.

Thank you for your time.

- You wanted to see me, coach?

- [Donnelly] Yeah, can you
sit down for just a minute?

- Did I do something wrong?

- No, no, it's nothing like that.

I just noticed you've been really hard

on yourself in practice lately,

you're running your splits
faster than you're supposed to.

It just kinda seems
like something's wrong.

- Nothing's wrong.

- You see these eyes?

They're 20-20.

- I don't wanna feel this way,

but Anna is better than me at everything.

She's more popular than I am,

she makes better grades
in school than I do,

she's better at running than I am.

We've been best friends our whole life

and she's always been better
than me at everything.

It's just getting hard to be happy

when something good happens for her.

I wanna be the best at something

and I guess I'm trying too hard.

- You know, it's funny you're
in here saying all this

because Shelby was just
in here the other day

saying the same thing about you.

She's never beat you at running,

you're more popular in school than she is,

you make better grades than her.

- Shelby?

- Yeah, Shelby, why
would she feel like that?

- I don't know, that's so weird,

I never knew she felt that way.

Shelby didn't say any
of that, did she, coach?

It's stupid to be jealous, isn't it?

I should just be happy for
Anna's success, shouldn't I?

I'll see ya in practice.

- I'll be right there.

- Thanks, coach.

- You're welcome.

Hey, Heidi?

Can I give you just one other reason

why you shouldn't be jealous?

- Sure.

- Because there's one thing that Anna

or anybody else in the whole world

is not better at than you.

- What's that?

- Being you.

There's only one Heidi Olson

and she was created by God
and she is very special,

she's so special.

If somebody came in here and said,

"I'll give you $500 for Heidi's uniform,"

would we sell it to 'em?

- Well, yeah.

- Yeah, we would, we could buy
a bunch more with that money.

If you said, "I'll give you
$5,000 for Heidi's autograph,"

would we do it?

Absolutely, are you kidding me?

And say that same person came in and said,

"I'll give you five million
for your number two runner,"

I'd say, "No deal."

Then he'd say 50 million, I'd say no,

then he'd say 500 million,
I'd still say, "No deal."

He'd say, "How much would it take

for me to buy Heidi Olson?"

And I'd say, "There isn't
an amount high enough,"

so do you see how special you are now

and so is Anna and Rebecca
and Katelyn and Shelby,

all you girls are equally priceless,

so don't ever feel like
a secondhand anything.

You may be the number
two runner on this team,

but you're not the
number two person on it.

- Thanks, coach.

- I got your text, what's up?

- Hey.

Look.

I can't see you anymore.

- What?

- I can't see you anymore.

- Why not?

- I just can't, my dad doesn't
want me to date anyone.

- Your dad doesn't even know me.

- It's not you, it
doesn't matter who it is.

He doesn't want me to date

and I don't wanna do
anything behind his back.

- Maybe it's time for your dad

to let you grow up a little.

- I am going to grow up.

I'm going to do what he says.

- What's that supposed to mean?

- Never mind, I can't,
so I hope you understand,

and if you don't,

then 10:31.

- What, it's only 3:30.

(birds chirping)

(car rumbling)

- Hey.

She's almost done, her
dad usually picks her up,

is everything okay?

- Fine, he can't make it today

and she has a dentist appointment.

- Oh, yeah, she told me.

Well, I'll have her out on time.

- Well, hurry, she can't be late.

- You know, I played basketball

in high school for four years

and my JV coach was a yeller

and he was always on us,
he was very hard to please,

but my varsity coach
was the exact opposite,

he was an encourager and a teacher

and always cheering me on,

I really liked my varsity coach.

She'll be done in a few minutes.

- Rebecca, did I ask you
to do something for me?

- What?

- You didn't hear what I
asked you to do after dinner?

- Yeah, I was gonna do that
after I did my homework.

- I wanted you to do it then.

- But I have this really important report

that's due tomorrow.

- You get out there and do

what I asked you to do
right now, young lady.

- [Donnelly] And my JV coach was a yeller,

he was always on us, he
was very hard to please.

- No, wait.

I'm mistaken, finish your homework.

- But I can do it.

- That's okay, you have enough to do

with running and schoolwork.

Do your report.

Rebecca, you've been doing
really well in school,

keep it up.

I'm really proud of you.

- [Savannah] I quit.

- What?

- I quit smoking.

- What?

- I stopped, no more weed.

- Really?
- [Savannah] Yeah.

- Really?
- [Savannah] Yes, honest.

- What made you quit?

- All of the sudden it just
hit me that it's wrong,

so I stopped.

It's not what God wants me to do.

Oh, well...

I saved this.

Did you really do this?

Thanks.

- You're welcome.

- Hey, my lovely wife.

So, I was online checking our statements

and we got an airline bill,

are you going somewhere
I don't know about?

- That, yes, I was going
to tell you about that

and I will explain later,

I have to finish this first.

- [Husband] And what you doing?

- Comparing times to see how we'll finish

in the regional meet.

So, for state meet, it's
divided into four regions

and they take the top four
teams from each region

plus the top five individuals
not in one of those teams.

- Well, didn't our girls
win at regionals last year?

- Yeah, fortunately,

there's not many good teams in the region.

- Well, what are those times?

- Well, I'm scoring the
meet based on times of teams

in other races to see where we'll finish.

- I mean, if our girls won
at regionals last year,

don't they stand a good chance
to win it again this year?

- Yeah, but I don't want them to win,

I just want them to qualify.

Look at that.

- What is it?

- I want you to run the exact pacing

that you have in practice
the last two weeks,

everybody understand?

- [Anna] What?

- You heard me.

- You want me to run a
6:32 mile pace today.

- Yes and just maintain it.

- Coach, we'll lose.

- No, you run your pacing
like you have in practice

and we'll get in.

- Coach, we're not gonna make it to state

if we run that slow.

- You just leave the results up to me

and run the race exactly
like I've asked you to.

Hey, remember the goal.

And 10:31.

(people cheering)

- Pick it up, Anna.

- Good job, you're on your way.

Go, Heidi, stay on pace.

- Anna, you gotta get it going, come on.

Anna, you gotta get
going, you're gonna lose.

- Rebecca, you gotta go faster.

- Anna, I kept telling you to pick it up,

what were you doing out there

- What place did we come in

- I don't know, but you
girls didn't make the state.

- Are you sure?

- Yes, now why weren't you
running hard out there?

- The coach told me to run her pace,

I mean, what did you want me to do?

- I want you to do what I say.

- Dad, she's the coach, I
have to do what she says

or else I'm off the team.

- Just quit, just quit the team,

that's what I want you to do.

- Dad, I can't quit, we
still have the state meet.

- You didn't make the state meet,

that's what I'm trying to tell you.

Your coach lost this for
you, it's all her fault.

This could've been a
really good team this year.

- Katelyn.

- Dad.

- Hey, I just got here, I'm
sorry I missed your race.

I'm really sorry.

- It's good to see you, I
didn't know you were coming.

- Well, it was a last minute decision

and I just wanted to see you run.

- Well, you're out of luck,
pal, try again next year.

- That's two years in a row now

I've missed you running, right?

- Right.

- Good job, everybody,
good job, that was great.

- Coach, this is my dad.

- [Donnelly] Courtney Smith-Donnelly.

- Jeremy Vann, nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you, too,
I'm glad you could come.

- He just got here and he missed the race,

he won't be able to see me run.

- Sure he will.

You girls take tomorrow off
and I'll see you Monday.

- What do you mean, we lost.

- Oh, no, we got fourth,
so we qualified for state.

(girls laughing)

- I'm sorry, but after this season,

you won't be coaching here anymore.

Now, this does not affect
your teaching at our school.

I hear you're doing a
fine job in the classroom,

you certainly are not being fired

from your teaching position,

but I heard from every parent this year

and I mean, every single one,

complaining to me that you
wouldn't let the girls compete

and that you made 'em run really slow.

Now, I know we qualified
for state, but just barely.

One father tells me that if it
wasn't for such a weak field,

we never would've made it

and we ranked last out of
the 16 teams who qualified,

last year we finished tenth,

we had six of our top
seven girls returning

until you let the Sims girl go.

Now, I really am sorry,

but the decision's been made, it is final.

The parents have all been
notified and so have the girls.

- Thank you for the opportunity
to work with these girls,

I've really enjoyed it.

If you ever change your mind,

I'd love to coach again next year.

- What is it now?

- So, you should be...

- What happened to you guys on Saturday?

How did you finish fourth in the region?

You should've won that so easily.

- We qualified for state,

that's all we were trying to do.

- Just admit that that coach

does not know what she's doing.

I mean, you guys are
lucky to even be going

to state meet with her.

- Well, at least we're going.

- Yeah, and look what you're ranked, last?

You guys are gonna get killed next week,

but if Holloway was still here,

we would've been top five.

Oh, but I do have some good news.

Our track team is gonna be good hands

and our relay team might
have a legitimate shot

at winning the state title, you know why?

'Cause we'll have a
real coach coaching us.

- [Heidi] Who?

- My dad.

He's coaching the
distance runners in track,

so this spring he'll have
some real workouts to do.

He's even contacted Holloway

and he's gonna send the workouts to him.

Well, good luck at state meet.

(knocking)

- What time do you leave tomorrow?

- We get out of school at 11.

- What's your itinerary look like?

- Suppose to get there by three,

coach said we'd walk the
course, go over the race.

- I want you to head straight for the lead

in that race on Saturday, you understand?

You could still probably get
top 15 if you run your best.

And whatever the coach tells you to do,

don't listen to her, you're a good runner,

she's doing a terrible job training you.

- Dad.

- Don't dad me, just do what I say.

At least, we finally got rid of her,

can't believe we let her
stay around this long.

- We did make it to the state meet.

- Your team won the regional last year

and you should've won it again this year.

Look, I don't wanna get
into this again, okay?

Now, you have a good trip tomorrow

and your mom and I will
see you on Saturday.

- Okay.

(hopeful melody)

- I was kinda hoping you
wouldn't show up here,

might have a better shot at this.

- Okay, this is the starting line,

we're starting out of box two.

Let's walk the course, get to know it,

then we'll go over what
we're doing tomorrow.

Here's the mile mark, there's the clock.

Make sure you're on pace.

If you're a little
slow, pick it up a pace.

If you're fast, adjust accordingly.

The two mile mark.

Check your splits again, you're
two-thirds of the way home,

the race will be won or
lost in this last mile,

I'll show you why in a minute.

- Look at that.

Do we have to run up that hill?

- This hill comes just after
the two mile mark in the race

which is why in practice
with your long runs,

I had the hill come just
after the two mile mark.

The hill in practice is
slightly longer than this one.

Girls, listen up, at
this point in the race,

fatigue really sets in
for a lot of runners

and the reason why is that
they went out too fast,

so this hill becomes an absolute killer,

but for you it won't be.

Now, when you get to the top,

you'll start working your way downhill

towards the finish line,

you have to stay focused,
you have to stay on pace,

you're still gonna have runners
to pass in this last mile.

Okay, let's keep going.

When you get to this final stretch,

you gotta give it all you've got,

the downhill finish will help,

but still you gotta run hard

all the way through the finish line.

There's the board right there.

When you cross the finish line,

your individual name will be on the left,

team scores will be on the right,

it's gonna constantly be updating

as people come across the finish line

and our hope is that eventually

our team name's up at
the top of the board.

Remember, girls, cross-country
lowest score wins.

All right, I gotta get my wheel,

meet me back at the starting line.

- For a coach who lost her job,

you'd never know anything happened.

- Yeah, I know.

I mean, did you hear what
she just said about our team?

- Yeah, hopefully at the top of the board?

- I know our coach is a Christian,

but she must be on some heavenly
drug or something today.

- Yeah, I've got a good pack this year,

but I don't have a runner
that can crack the top 10,

that's what's hurting me.

Now, you, you've got
those two front runners,

that's difference.

- But anything can happen,

we still have to run a good race.

Besides, my three, four, and
five are quite a ways behind.

- They're not that far back.

They'll be in the top
25, nobody can beat you.

- Orange Hills is ranked last
this year, is that right?

They were top 10 last year

and I thought everybody was
coming back, what happened?

- Yeah, I heard they got a new coach,

doesn't know what they're doing.

- Now, how do you know that?

- We ran over at Jackson Park
for our first meet this year

and just got to talking
to one of the fathers,

you know he said that Sims
girl, she's not running either.

- That girl was good, why not?

- I don't know.

- Their top runner is
ranked 42nd in the meet.

- 42nd, they just be
ranked better than that

if they're all returning.

- Gotta be that coach.

- Who's the coach?

- I couldn't tell you.

- Check the roster, who's coaching them?

- A Courtney Smith-Donnelly.

- Courtney Smith, are you sure?

- Says Smith-Donnelly.

- Do you know her?

- Yeah, I know her if
it's who I think it is.

Seven years ago, my number
one runner, Shannon Wilson,

was ranked first in the state,

but she finished second at the state meet

on this very course.

You know who beat her?

Courtney Smith.

- Same girl?

- She ran for Blair Academy
on that side of the state.

- Probably is.

- She was ranked way
back, like in the high 30s

coming into the meet.

She ran even splits, came out of nowhere,

and ended up winning by four seconds.

We never expected it.

That's the team you need
to be worried about.

- Why?

- Because if that girl is her coach

and they run like she did.

- They only have five runners listed

coming in 42nd through 69th.

- That's a pretty close pack.

- Yeah, but they're way back.

And my team will beat 'em easy.

- All seven of my girls are ranked ahead

of their number one.

- They're not a factor.

I gotta go, guys, but
gentlemen, good luck tomorrow.

Take care.

- You, too.

- Good talking to you.

- I wouldn't be so sure about that.

- What do you mean, look
how low they're ranked.

After our state meet,

I remember checking Courtney's times

in the previous races that
fall and in every race,

she was about a minute and a
half slower than Shannon was.

Until the state meet.

- Well, what she do, run
tempo pace the whole time?

- It sure seemed that way.

- Wait a minute, wait a minute,

you're telling me that girl ran tempo pace

in every race until the state meet.

- I don't, but it sure seemed
like when you check her times.

- Well, how'd she qualify
for the regional meet

if she only ran tempo pace.

- 'Cause that region's
always been really slow,

you know that.

And I remember she qualified
as the fifth individual.

- You are kidding.

She really did her homework.

- Who's her number one runner?

- Anna Glass.

- What was her time at the regional meet?

- 20:24.

- That's about a 6:30 mile pace

and what was her time at
the state meet last year?

- Anna Glass.

20:08, so she's worse this year.

- Or she's a lot better and
that 20:24 is her tempo pace

which means tomorrow that girl's

gonna break 19 minutes easy.

- If she did that,

she'd make top five if she did that.

- With a pretty tight
pack right behind her.

- No coach in their right mind

would ever make their girls
run tempo pace every race,

that is absolutely crazy.

- Is it?

I mean, what's the main goal here,

to win a meet last month or
win the state meet tomorrow?

Think about it.

We all do one tempo workout a week.

If Courtney Smith had her girls

run tempo pace in all the races,

they did at least two some weeks,

that's building great endurance

plus they learned even
pacing in race conditions.

Yeah.

If she trained her team
to run like she did,

look out for the girls in orange.

- Here's the hundred meters.

It's already marked with
that white flag right there.

Now, we're starting out of box two,

so it's gonna be easy to see.

Let's do some practice starts,
let's get our pacing down.

Girls, it is absolutely essential

that you hit your hundred
meter pacing tomorrow,

does everybody understand?

- Yes, ma'am.

- What pace, coach, 24
and a half seconds again?

- Not time time, Anna,

this time you go out at 22 and a half.

- That's a six minute mile pace.

- And an 18:45 5K if you maintain it.

You do that and you
finish in the top five.

- Coach, I haven't run under
20 minutes yet this year.

- Yes, you have.

- No, I haven't.

- [Donnelly] Sure, you have?

- When?

- In practice.

- When?

- The cruise intervals
we've been doing all season,

remember we started with three

and we worked our way up to five.

Tomorrow, the first
six minute mile you run

is going to feel like the
third cruise interval,

the second is going to
feel like the fourth,

the last is going to feel like the fifth.

Now, don't worry if there's a lot of girls

out ahead of you at the start.

It's the state meet, they're
gonna go out very fast,

but they won't be there for long.

The field will come back to you.

Just stay on pace and
you'll keep passing runners.

Same goes for all of you.

What I just explained to Anna,

that's how it's gonna
feel for you tomorrow.

- Heidi, 23 seconds for your
hundred meters, 6:08 mile.

Rebecca, Katelyn, 23 and a half seconds,

that puts you at a 6:16 mile.

Shelby, 24 seconds and a 6:24 mile.

Every training session that
I've done with you all this year

has been to build your
endurance and your strength

to prepare you to run
these times tomorrow.

- Coach, why didn't you let us

run this hard in any of the other meets?

- Okay, I'll tell you.

First, a lot of these
girls are gonna be worn out

from running so hard in previous races,

but you girls, you'll be fresh.

Second, I had you run tempo
pace in meets to build endurance

and that takes time.

Third, I wanted you to learn
even pacing in a race setting

and that's gonna prove to
be very important tomorrow.

Anna.

At the end of the race,

there should be an Eastern
Valley girl just ahead of you

and you've got to beat her, okay?

- Okay.

- Remember, you'll be coming from behind,

she'll just be hanging on.

I would rather be in your shoes,

but still you've got to get her.

- Got it.

- Same goes for you, Shelby.

At the end of the race,

there should be an Eastern
Valley girl just ahead

and you've got to beat her, understand?

- Yes, ma'am.

- You gotta beat her.

This is gonna be a very, very close race,

it could go either way.

Okay.

Let's go do our hundreds.

- Coach, why didn't you
tell us any of this before?

- Yeah, and to our parents.

- When I tell people to get
faster is to train slower,

hardly anybody believes me.

Why, because that doesn't make sense.

Most people believe the way
to get faster is to run harder

and that's what makes sense,

but slower training builds endurance.

Add in some hills, you gain strength,

put the two together and
you get faster over time,

and that's what we needed
more than anything was time.

I needed every single training session

I could get with you all
and that included meets.

So, if you girls stay on pace tomorrow,

you can win the state meet.

That was the goal, right?

Remember the goal.

I wanna thank each of
you for the opportunity

to be your coach this year,

it's been one of the
highlights of my life.

I wanna thank you for your
commitment to train every day,

for your hard work, for your
sacrifice, for not quitting,

even when you didn't understand.

And each one of you is so special to me.

And my prayer for you is that
God blesses you in this life.

- [Dr. Vann] Dear coach,

enclosed please find a reimbursement

for the plane ticket you sent me.

It should be more than
enough to cover your payment.

I didn't appreciate your
phone call at the time,

but now I realize it's
probably the most important one

I've received in the last three years.

My daughter asked me what made me

come to the meet last week,

but I didn't tell her about your call

and she was none the wiser,

so that tells me you didn't
say anything to her either,

that was very honorable of you

not to embarrass me like you could have

and for that I say thank you.

I'll be at the race tomorrow

and more importantly, I'm
going to block off more time

to visit Katelyn in the future

and make her a priority in my life.

Thanks for all you've done for my daughter

and good luck in the
state meet, Jeremy Vann.

- Anna, are you still awake?

- Yeah.

- Can't read, I'm thinking about the race.

- Yeah, me too.

- You nervous?

Me too.

You think we can win?

- I don't see how we can.

- The coach does, she
really believes we can win.

I'm gonna miss her.

- Me too.

(climactic melody)

- [Shackleford] Congratulations,
girls, you did it.

- I can't believe you guys won.

- Coach, where's the coach?

- [Anna] I don't know.

- Coach.

- Coach.

- Where is she?

- [Heidi] Coach?

- Where'd she go?

- I don't see her.

- What she do, disappear?

- Wait, wait, I think I know where she is.

- Where?

- Remember that story she told us?

She slipped out the back door.

- [Girls] 10:31.

- [Donnelly] Cross-country
is a lot like life.

You have to run a race with patience,

with knowledge, and with understanding,

and you have to remember the goal.

Always remember the goal.

The same is true in life.

You have to learn patience, gain wisdom,

and get understanding.

Class, you have to remember that goal,

whether you eat or drink
or whatever you do,

do all to the glory of God.