Answering the Challenge

Wednesday evening, the big 5K in my town took place. Those of you who are regular readers remember that my son beat me back at the end of May, so this race was to be a rematch of sorts. The weather was good, humid, but not too hot.
Prior to the race, I said to my son, "If I can see you at the finish, I'm coming after you." He told me that "if you're close, I won't be letting you by."
I struggled a bit, and walked a few segments, then, at about 2.5 miles, I saw him sneaking by on the left. The gauntlet was thrown down. I went after him, sitting just off his shoulder as we climbed the last grade. We had talked about tactics, and he knew to use the downgrade to accelerate. Dutifully, he did his work, his only mistake, glancing around to check on competition. He kept his effort high as the course flattened out, passing perhaps a score of competitors, and only being passed by a few, all bigger and stronger. Still, I was locked onto him, perhaps 5 meters back. I couldn't gain ground, but neither was I losing. I had to hope he weakened.
As we came into the final 100, he turned on the juice - there wasn't much left, but it was enough. I tried to answer, thinking my greater strength and size would make the difference. It just wasn't enough. My son crossed the line with a two second advantage.
Bragging rights in the family stay with my son. I was proud of his effort. He did what was needed to hold me off. If I can keep moving with my comeback, it'll be him chasing me, but if in the chase, his effort and commitment rises, that will be a good thing.
After the race, I asked him, "Do you think you could run a whole race like you ran the end of the 5K?" His reply was, "Maybe, in a 1500, but not longer." I think he's beginning to transition to being a genuine racer.