Perfect Mile Quotes

Samuel is thirteen years old and he lives on the edge of the British colony in Pennsylvania with his parents. There has been rumor of a fight in Lexington and Concord. Samuel is the provider for his family, he knows his way well through the forest. He was out hunting when an attack fell on his home. When he returned home Samuel was too late, the whole town was burnt to a crisp, and there were dead bodies everywhere none being his parents. Samuel quickly discovered that his parents were taken and they might be dead soon so he must find and rescue them, but he doesn’t do it alone for he meets much needed allies along the way who help him save his parents.

In the novel The Perfect Mile, three men each set out on their own journey of breaking 4 minutes in the mile. A quote that captures the theme of the novel is “ Further, the four-minute mile had to be won alone. There could be no teammates to blame, no coach during halftime to inspire a comeback. One might hide behind the excuses of cold weather, an unkind wind, a slow track or jostling competition but ultimately these obstacles had to be defied. Winning a foot race, particularly one waged against the clock, was ultimately a battle with oneself, over oneself. The three men, John Landy,Roger Bannister and Wes Santee put it to the test and overcame mental and physical challenges, defeated criticism and were determined to break the barrier.

While I am not as experienced in the faculty of endurance as Shackleton was, my trials as a distance runner have bequeathed me with a concrete idea of what endurance is. My debilitating cramps, my slogs through mud pits that were formerly legitimate trails, and my stomach emptying wretches on the side of the sizzling track have enstilled in me the prerequisite for a belief that what I am doing really matters. When I fail to maintain a positive mental attitude, my exhausted legs slow in their powerful dance; they simply refuse to go any faster as the blanket of apathy envelopes me. Although my running horror story pales in comparison to Shackleton's epic of frostbite and starvation, the workout early on a rainy Saturday morning in November required that I suck it up and believe in what I was doing. I had already run three one mile repeats at a ridiculously fast rate of speed over the trail with the biggest hill in site. When Coach asked

“By spring of ‘38, he had whittled his mile down to 4:13.7, some even seconds off the world record which now stood at 4:06.4. (pg. 41)” Louie is determined to get a good time. “In February, he ran a 4:08.2, six-tenths of a second short of the fastest indoor mile ever run. (pg. 44)” This quote explains how Louie is a very determined person while he is running because he doesn’t let people beat him easy. “Two weeks later, he scorched a 4:07.9. (pg. 44)” Louie cut his time a week before he beat that time by a second he was determined to get a better score and he did it. That Louie was a very determined person to win and finish stuff and do

Baker instills persistence into Holling, allowing him to exceed any limits or constraints put on him. In March, Holling learns that he is required to try out for the cross country team, but at this point, he is unaware of his talent. However, Mrs. Baker, being a medalist in running, teaches Holling to “run like Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics,” giving the reader as assumption that such a grand title would surely motivate Holling (Schmidt). Mrs. Baker taught Holling that running not only involves good form, but determination, and a willingness to push forward and strive. Preparing for a big meet, Holling was training vigorously to use technique, and to compete passionately, and “that night [he] ran like Jesse Owens through the dark March streets. Leaning forward. Arms and legs like pistons. Head straight and still. Hands loose. Breathing controlled” (Schmidt). Holling utilized what was taught to him and used it as motivation to push forward and exceed any limitation imposed on him. The limitations here are public opinions, or someone judging a person based on their appearance, intelligence, etc. Similarly, the eighth graders bullied Holling and the younger seventh graders which made them feel inferior and unable to be better than what they are, which with Mrs. Baker’s help, urges Holling to work harder, using what he learns from his teacher. Essentially, Mrs. Baker successfully teaches Holling to run like a champion, but

Jordan Yeakle Mrs. Tantlinger Honors English 12 2 January 2018 Title Jack lost all control of himself after he became blood thirsty for killing pigs. Sadly, his need to kill did not end with pigs and it continues to people including a boy named Simon. Jack starts as a strong, independent boy and ends as a savage without control proving that the The evils of man leads to the destruction of mankind.

“Gramps says that i’m a country girl at heart, and that is true.” (Creech 1) Sal has a country heart due to the love of nature she has experienced throughout her childhood. In Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech shows how Sal is connected to Bybanks, Kentucky, by connecting her childhood to nature, reflecting on how new experiences relate to the past, and reliving memories.

Kristin Hannah’s statement in Fly away On the Struggle of Mental Illness and Distorted Families “ Do not give your past the power to define your future” (Unknown). The quote relates to the novel because almost all the characters have trouble with forgetting past conflicts. The informative overview of Kristin Hannah’s novel Fly away tells about how having a dysfunctional family can lead to children having mental illness problems. The book gives the overwhelming statement of how mental illness can be present in dysfunctional families.

The book portrays the story of nine young Americans and their journey to the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. Throughout the book, the author, Daniel James Brown, mentions the hardships of the individual in the boat and the historical events that occurred during that time period. He gives us vivid details of the events, telling us the story through the eyes of the characters, letting us experience the events ourselves. He tells the story of each boy and coach, entertaining us with the ideas of their early life and their journey to the Olympics. His purpose: to tell the story of the boys and their victory at the Olympics, giving us the opportunity to read the story from each of the rowers’ perspective.” As Judy was telling me this, it occurred

“ Don’t let your dreams just be dreams”. In the book Close To Famous, the main character Foster McFee really stuck to this quote. She had a dream of having her own cooking show someday. She then meets a guy at her school and his name is Macon who also has a dream that is hard to reach but not impossible. The last character is Rayka she is Foster’s mother.

While Bannister and Prefontaine set the standards for the short and medium distance runners, a new group of long distance runners was beginning to emerge, along with a new running culture. In the early and mid-1970’s, long distance American runners Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers, joined forces with short and medium distance runners (Bannister and Prefontaine) to kick-start the running boom of running in America. It’s said that over 25 million people were active runners during this time.

“Final call girl’s four by eight-hundred-meter relay” called the official. The Ontario Track girl’s four by eight-meter team trooped up to lane one, in unison. I would not have wanted to be racing with anyone else but my relay family. We had trained all season for this one race. Every workout, asthma attack, tear, and shin splint has lead up to this one race to break a twenty year old school record. As we jogged with the official from the bullpen to the starting line, the crowd had uproars of excitement for the athletes. An immense smile grew across my face, not only from the ecstatic crowd, but from the anticipation to race. I approached the starting line, in the first lane, while my teammates arrayed along the fence with the other second,

May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister was prepared to sit out of the mile race at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford. He said it was because he did not want to waste his energy that day because the conditions were unfavorable. Throughout the world nobody had run a mile under four minutes, and it was actually said to be impossible by scientists, but Bannister was determined to do it. Before the race however, wind speeds dropped and he decided to run. He won, and as the announcer started to say his time was under 4 minutes, the 3000 fans in attendance drowned out the announcer with cheers. Roger Bannister had made the impossible possible, and within 46 days his record was already broken. To this day more than 20,000 athletes have broken

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going” (Sills 1). In running, this is the case because all athletes must exert maximum effort in order to achieve personal goals. Opponents of running disapprove of the sport, as it is simply a form of harsh punishment and does not assist the athletes. A high school coach forces his team to complete 20 hill sprints, 20 up-downs, two laps around the field, and the coach threatens he can kick an athlete off of the team if the drills are not completed (Toporek 1). Punishment is not the only category running is used for and the sport of running actually helps people.

“Of course she knew him; everyone knew him, he was Alex Rivers, for God’s sake,” (30). Celebrities are the big deal around any place in America. People just love to get into their lives and know everything about them. But what if their lives are just made up? In Picture Perfect, by Jodi Picoult, that is exactly what happens. Everyone loves Alex Rivers, as he is the most known celebrity out there. Cassie, his beloved wife, however, doesn't just see his celebrity side, she sees his abusive side too. In the beginning of the book, Cassie has lost her memory, having no clue who she is or how she lives. As the book progresses, Cassie regains bits and pieces of her memory, but with her memory coming back, she starts to remember the abuse her husband,