Sidelines
NOTHING like a sprint. Nothing like it in the world. It's tension and gunsmoke and thunder, and then, before you can even break a sweat, it's over. Sprinter’s life boils
down to 11 secondsThe perspiration comes then. It gushes, and you gasp and heave, blood pumping, heart banging, and you just can't get enough air -- you might as well be breathing through a straw.
And it's over.
A week, a year, a lifetime, all for those 11 seconds.
And just like that, Sean Butts was Hawaii's Fastest Human.
He whooped as he crossed the finish line at yesterday's Punahou Relays. So much emotion packed into 100 meters of fury. Butts raised a fist and pumped it as the realization set in. He'd won it. He'd done it.
The Hawaii safety known best for covering punts and blocking extra points had finally broken through.
"I came out better than I ever have," he said. "And it only took me about maybe 10 strides and I'm out in front, I thought."
And then he just knew.
"I knew I could take 'em, 'cause I think once I get in front I don't think anybody can pass me."
What a feeling.
He finished in 10.84 seconds to win.
There's nothing like it in the world.
THE OLD GUNFIGHTER was alone, away from everything, and he was tired. He pulled on his warm-up pants slowly, over the bundle of ice wrapped onto one thigh. They had finally caught him. Butts had finally gunned him down.
"That's better than I thought he could run," he said when he saw the time.
But Butts had done it, beaten Kelsey Nakanelua, finally defeated the old pro. "I'm happy for him," Nakanelua said. He knew what Butts was feeling. He knew the history.
"I just think he wanted to win worse, and I've run this race for 10 years, I've won it five times, and I've beat him several times too."
Butts kept coming back, hungry and young and eager. They all did. They all kept coming. And he had to be ready to face them down. Every year, he had to be ready.
"For me mentally it was more difficult than any other year because I think I'm the only person who's ever run this race 10 years in a row," the Old Gunfighter said. "And you know, you beat the same guys for a decade it's kind of hard to get up for it. That probably was the most difficult part."
He looked around, at the kids circling the track. "This is my meet, right here," he said.
"I ran six events in this track meet about 20 years ago."
BUTTS FINISHED SECOND to Nakanelua last year because of a bad start, and so Butts had been practicing all week. He'd been warming up all day. He wanted this. He needed it.
"He had a great reaction to the gun," Nakanelua said.
And then, it was over, and the television crews crowded around Butts.
Nakanelua walked alone, slowly digesting second place. He really was happy for Butts. He alone could appreciate what had just happened. He alone knew what it meant.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com