Marathon [Event]

[Larxene]

A Marathon is a long-distance running event. It's length is 26 miles/385 yards/42.195 kilometers.Powers are prohibited in all events. You will have two posts to finish the race. Feel free to take a breather in between your posts!

In order to determine the order, the staff will be rating the posts on these qualities: Dice Roll, Creativity, Quality, and Realism.

The Dice Roll will need to be rolled with a 6 sided dice. This will help order the racers and give luck a bit of a say in the race as well. When you post, you are to click the button or to use the following code: [dice=X]

The number inside the code is the number of sides on the die. For this event you will need a 6!

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"Alright, this event is for the Marathon! If you aren't supposed to be here, then scram. I'll be your judge for today. I will be following you on chocobo the whole way to the finish line!" Judge Larxene shifted out of the way to allow the racers to be able to run. "Ok! Everyone to their starting block! No foul play today or I'll catch it and you're out!"

"On your mark! Get set! GO!" Larxene calmly fired off the gun to signal the start of the extremely long race.

Members to Post:

[/li][li]Felix
[/li][li]Sora
[/li][li]Kimahri[/blockquote]
No Posting Order. - Must post before Sept 12th[/blockquote]

[Felix]

[dice=6]

Outside the collesium on the planet of Olympius, a red-headed man sat on the sand beneath him, bringing in his legs for a Butterfly stretch. His upperbody leaned forward as he extended his arms, exhaling deeply as he stretched forward. The man was beginning to limber up, knowing that the event he had been put in was a marathon and well aware of how badly a cramp in the later stages of the race could be. Indeed, he had a responsibility to the team he was on and losing wasn't an option. No he would win this race, his eyes traveling over to his opponent's, a kid shorter than him with a goofy hairstyle, and a Beastman wannabe that looked like he'd be trouble. The kid on the other hand, didn't worry the freelancer all that much, certain that his longer strides and the noticeable difference in the definition of muscle meant he was in much better shape. Furthermore, having been notified of this event taking place a week in advance, he had undergone special training to ensure he'd have the stamina to last a marathon.

During the week before with only a single day of rest, the freelancer had worn a mask over his mouth to restrict his breathing day in and day out. By doing so, he had forced his lungs to adapt to extreme conditions and get used to working on little amounts of oxygen much like when one climbs a mountain.While the effect would only be temporary, it was a good way to increase one's stamina before a marathon that worked extremely well. Another thing he had done was run on the beach of Radiant Gardens, knowing that by running on sand it would build up his endurance even further since it was a much harder substance to run on then normal pavement. The last thing he had done was wear a weighted vest, having only taken off recently and feeling as light as if he was using Mass Manpulator, an ability he wouldn't use even if he was allowed.

Regardless, as he held the one stretch for a minute and proceeded onto a number of others in prepartion for the upcoming race, he began shaking up a half full two liter of soda. After throughly shaking it, he would stop for a moment, opening the cap and letting some of the gas release before repeating the cycle again. Once the soda had gone flat, he would quickly down it, chugging the beverage and ending it with a satisfied “ah”. While he had eaten a lot of pasta the day before, the freelancer didn't like leaving a contest like this to chance and one of the best sources of quick energy was flat soda, especially since it didn't mess with one's stomach like energy drinks often did. With all that said and done, all the freelancer had to do was check his Pumas to see if they were tied properly, and fix out any wrinkles in his muscle shirt (running a marathon was no excuse not to look good).

With all said and done, and all his prepartations in place, the only thing he waited for as he got into his runner's stance was the signal to began and when it came he took off like a bullet train, sprinting at full speed. He would keep this pace up for a little more than a mile before slowing down, able to maintain more or less full speed for about a mile. At that point he would began to pace himself, still running at a high speed but one that taxed him less. After all, no person could sprint full speed for 26 miles and while the Beastman lookalike did make him worry, he knew he'd gas out if he tried to sprint the entire way. No he would pace himself and control his breathing properly like any trained martial artist would, breathing in through the nose and out the mouth. Then once he had more or less regained the wind in his lungs he would sprint another mile as fast as he could. Hopefully, this would give him a good lead and win him the race but as he neared the half-way mark he had a feeling that it wouldn't be that easy as exhaustion steadily creeped upon him. Indeed, as all the contestants breaths grew more ragged and their bodies began to break down from the constant test of endurance, the race would become far more interesting. [rand=724952423013746781256990460678949778541598934683820142042823136]

[Sora]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,480px,true][atrb=cellpadding,3px,true][atrb=cellspacing,3px,true][bg=939d8f] Speed kills coming down the mountain Speed kills, coming down the street [dice=6] Today felt like a excellent day to run! Very excellent, he hadn't felt this regular and energetic for a long time! Running instead of battling felt like it was not only a great way to unwind, but a good way other than fighting Heartless all the time to feel the burn and get back to what he did best with Riku before their island was destroyed. And that was running! But Sora wasn't walking into this as a amateur; as soon as he signed up for the good cause to give some of the other competitors a challenge to run with, he had been caught in the act by Phil and Hercules themselves. Seemed like Hades had been in the off-season for quite a while, so Phil felt up to training the both of them for the months leading up to the marathon before Herc and Megara went off on a romantic week away. Hercules had convinced Phil to let him take a few days off since Sora was around, as well as the other heroes while the events were on if Hades suddenly decided to get up to his old tricks. For weeks Sora had already been running up and down the beaches on his island in his down time, after coming back from the worlds to look around for the people he was looking for. But now Phil had started training him with Hercules, he put him into a similar training schedule involving a strict diet and several training sessions to test their paces. Four weeks before the marathon, he and Herc had practiced doing a half-marathon, and the week before the marathon it had been down-scaled to a three-mile marathon. The key as Phil always said was two words: stamina, even though Sora liked to point out that was one word. Racing with Hercules was a relief to see how half-human he was that even though he was many times stronger physically Sora could sometimes out-run him, and even though one time Hercules accidentally threw backwards a empty plastic cup that with his strength knocked the air out of Sora's lungs when it hit his stomach, he wished Sora good luck as he set off on Pegasus with Megara. Forty-eight hours before the marathon, Phil had instructed Sora to eat as much of the food laid out before him as he could until he felt full; which consisted of some of Greek's finest pasta, breads, fruits, potatoes, and goat's milk with lots of water to wash it down with. This morning when he woke up however, three hours before the marathon, Phil ordered him to only have two things; a banana and some Greek bread along with a few cups of water. It made sense with what Phil explained, that he was building down instead of up to save all his energy for the race. "Ya gotta do the same thing for the race, kid. I got two words for you; Keep everything in moderation." Phil was now motivating him again, holding down his new Hermes Sandals he had Sora break in as he did sit-ups. The shoes were a lot thinner and smaller than Sora's regular big shoes, and they were all the rage as the latest and most innovative running shoe in Thebes and beyond as Phil had insisted, having no special properties at all after Sora had broken them in for the past few weeks. Phil said they prevented foot injuries while running and their aerodynamic structure allowed for less drag and more endurance making them the shoes worn by the fastest known athletes in Olympus."Uh, isn't that four words, Phil? And why am I doing sit-ups when I'm not using my abs for this race?" Phil brushed off his words with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Whatever kid, and this is not just to strengthen your core, but it's to prevent you from getting side-stitches during the race... like I always do." The coach rubbed his large belly as if in contemplation, following Sora's gaze at the other two competitors that had shown up. "Don't worry about matchstick and blue loincloth over there. You're going to feel sore at the end of this race no matter what kid, trust me. Now, the race is starting, so walk around a bit and stretch before you start. And remember these six words; set your goals, build yourself up near the end. Good luck, kid." "But Phil... nevermind. Thanks." He laughed a bit at the satyr's miscount of words, and stretched his legs a bit. As the race was announced to start, he lined up with the others, and relaxed with loosing himself up. He might be sore after this like Phil said, but it was such a nice day and he was going to have fun with this, so it didn't matter if he did win or not. Once the signal was given to start the race, he started with a slow jog to pace himself and keep his heart steady. Once he felt a little out of breath, he casually slipped into a walk like Phil had instructed to give his legs a change from the running stride and avoid cramping in the later stages. Once he felt his breath coming back, he started casually jogging again and kept in mind the first few goals he had laid out before him for the marathon. Hydrating himself by drinking at every aid station across the way, he felt pretty good about his odds with drinking before he felt thirsty to top off his water levels. Everything was so relaxing taking things at a calming pace as he appreciated the scenery around him as he strode by, as things from his perspective were a lot more interesting to examine when he wasn't dodging magic projectiles, clashing blades or zipping past stars in his gummi ship. It was a great day to be awake and alive, with clean fresh air to breathe, and the world at peace in sync with himself. The thought of what things would be like at the finish line excited him as he kept up his rhythm towards the half-way mark; what a fun race this would turn out to be! TAG Felix, Kimahri SONG The People That We Love by Bush NOTES Sora's going to feel sore after this. xD;

THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY COMATOSE OF ON THE EDGE!

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[Felix]

[dice=6]

And so the race was mounting, Felix's eyes looking ahead and not even daring to look back. He was too focused right now, his only goal to cross that finish line and to say he was tunnel visioning would be an understatement. Yes, he didn't even care about the other two, not sure if they had passed him up or were still lagging behind, his only concern following his plan. Indeed, aside from the physical prepartion, the freelancer had also prepared himself mentally for this race. During the week of preparation he had specifically for this race (his notification having been later than other participants), he had learned what he could about the two he would be racing. While pictures had been impossible to procure, descriptions of the two had helped him paint a rather accurate mental image of them beforehand. During his training he had constantly had their faces in mind, telling himself he would win.

Yes he would beat them, he would best them, and he would be the first to cross that finish line. He would be the most prepared, the most endurant, and the most handsome (although that last one was probably irrelevant). He kept on psyching himself up during his grueling training, not doubting himself and putting himself in a situation where he couldn't lose similar to nearly every battle he had fought. While his life had been on the line during all those fights, this time it was his pride at stake something he held very dear, possibly even more than his life. If he lost this race he wouldn't be able to live with himself... and he'd lose a hefty sum of cash.

“Probably shouldn't have bet my entire life savings on one race,” he commented as he passed a watering station, grabbing a cup of water as he splashed it on his face and let what slid down into his mouth swish around before spitting it. While he wasn't sure what his opponent's were doing with the water, he was smarter than to gulp it down quickly since that could have an adverse effect on his running since he was already in motion unlike when he drank the flat soda and had a minute to let it settle. Regardless, of all that he was doing right though, as the finish line got closer and closer, his legs got heavier and heavier. His breathing was becoming increasingly difficult to control, his arms getting harder to swing, and his sweat was dripping madly down his face. Stopping for a breather sounded nice but by his guestimation, he figured he had only another... five miles to go.

“Fu*% me.” he cursed, his speed beginning to drop, “I..” he trailed off, his pace dropping a bit more “Can't lose!” he shouted, his eyes flaring with determination as his mind wandered. Suddenly, images of the training he had done prior to the race flashed before his eyes, as a tune began to play in the back of his mind that he couldn't help but smile at. As the music's instrumentals started, a tune that was sure to get anyone's heart racing, Felix would be seen in an old farmhouse. His attire was simple, black wife-beater and black jogging pants with a fancy pair of gym shoes. More importantly though was what he was doing, and he was skipping rope like a mad man, increasing the pace rapidly before the first verse of the song began.

Silence in the darkness creeps into your soul
Envy moves the light of self control
The gate that holds you captive has the door
Burnin' with determination to even up the score

As said verse began, Felix could be seen being held up by an overweight old Cacuasian male on an elevated platform, Felix lifting himself up to do crunches as he sent a one two each time he rose. A different image flew by quickly there after of Kimahri pushing his upperbody forward with some high tech training equipment. When that image finished and Felix got done with his crunches, he would begin chopping wood in a barren wasteland with nothing but snow for miles. The imagery would then swap between Felix chopping wood and Kimahri using the rather expensive looking training equipment. Once the flickering between the two scenes ended, Felix would be seen doing combos with Barret, holding up the punching mits for Felix to slam his fists against. After two mighty hooks, a woman would suddenly be zoomed in on as she entered the barn, a single wing protruding from her shoulder as she peered inside.

Heart's on fire, strong desire, rages deep within
Heart's on fire, fever's risin', high
The moment of truth is here

As the chorous played, Felix would begin punching a speed bag as an image of Sora doing the same followed. Felix would end his assault on the speed bag with a mighty blow as Sora would be seen doing the same but to some random man's face. Immediately after, Felix's hands would be wrapped around a rope that had been fashioned to hold several large rocks. Using all his strength, he would heave the bag high into the air as Kimahri could now be seen using a machine that worked on his biceps due to the curling motion. As that scene ended with a nod of approval from the aforementioned woman, Sora would be seen punching a machine made to gauge his power. Felix on the other hand would be doing more work on his abdominals, laying flat on a table as his hands gripped the sides. He would begin to raise his legs and drop them slowly, over and over as Sora continued punching the machine, his punch getting stronger with each try. After Sora grew tired of punching the machine, Felix would begin bobbing and weaving past a taught rope, throwing an uppercut whenever coming up. Sora would then start punching people, knocking them down easily as he did a little bit of shadow boxing as well. A syringe was then produced, sucking liquid out of a small bottle and surely meant to be used to enhance one's muscles, something common of most athletes. But Felix was different, he refused to use drugs and was all natural, training hard to make up the difference, showing this as he places a yoke around his shoulder, twisting his upper body. Switch over to Kimahri and we see his head in another steel contraption, doing a motion similar to Felix's exercise, most likely working out the same muscles. As Felix drops his yoke, Kimahri is injected with the syringe noted earlier, giving into the allure of performance enhancing drugs.

Heart's on fire, strong desire, rages deep within
Heart's on fire, fever's risin', high
The moment of truth is here

Once again the chorous booms, Felix crumpling up a crude drawing of Sora and Kimahri off the mirror in the barn house. He then quickly moves over to a wagon that the fat man, Barret, and the winged woman sit in, grabbing it's handles as he attempts to lift it over his head with the large amount of weight sitting inside of it. Kimahri on the other hand is attempting to lift a barbell over his head, the weight also being something that your average person could never hope to lift. Yet as the chorous continues, both contestants achieve the seemingly impossible, lifting the weight above their heads. As the chorous comes to an end, Felix is seen running through the snow and away from a vehicle in hot pursuit, as Sora runs upon a trendmill with several wires attached to him. As the instrumentals pick up their pace and the tempo raises, Felix begins sprinting through the snow as the car chasing him crashes into a bank of snow and he ascends a snowy hill. Sora still running on the trendmill, has his endurance put to the test by the surronding scientists increase the incline on the trendmil slowly but surely. As the incline gets higher and higher, so does Felix, climbing up what we now know is actually a mountain and stumbling up as he climbs. Soon enough, Sora runs out of breath and slows his sprint on the trendmill but Felix continues to climb, his exhaustion not getting the better of him. He continues to stumble and trip as he climbs closer and closer to the top, but perserverance seems him through as he stops at the top, raising his hands up high as he lets out a powerful cry of victory as the song comes to a stop.

Back in reality, Felix passes the finish line, not even sure if the yellow tape is around his waist. During the last five miles, while his mind had gone through a montage of his training (or rather himself as Rocky and a few other characters switched around but hey who's keeping track?), he had sprinted the entire way burning up every last bit of his energy as he fell forward, his hand raised high even though he still had no idea if he won and far too high on his own adrenaline.

“YEAHHHHH!”

OOC: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SUzcDUERLo&NR=1

Also since there's no posting order, I'm posting this a little early... sorry Kimahri but I wanted to post this puppy out so bad I couldn't wait XD![rand=53511257166974257548906342126429564557599369436507802290469408035]

[kimahri]

[dice=6]


Kimahri was quite surprised to find a world that did sports as well. Of course, there was Blitzball on his home world, but usually what he found were fights. He had heard of this world, but as more of a place where fighting tournaments were held. Apparently this time it hosted some events other than fights. An Olympiad Event was it called, since ‘olympiad’ seemed similar to ‘olympus’ of Olympus Coliseum, he assumed these sports were also regular here. Only either less famous or less done.

Having signed up for a running match, the Ronso had started to train a bit as well. His training mainly was done alongside some fast animals he found on worlds and trying to figure whether his skills would be of use. As powers were prohibited, he would not be allowed to use any Ronso Rage abilities, but he had shown quite some skills during his time as a Guardian. Yuna had signed up for the Relay Match, so Kimahri didn’t want to miss that either.

His two opponents in this marathon were a freelancer named Felix and a youngster named Sora. From what he had heard, the man named Felix did all kinds of jobs for money, and the youngster’s name appeared a lot on boards and a trainer of the coliseum spoke to him. He could assume them both to be tough opponents, so it would be a difficult race to defeat the two.

When told to get on their starting block, Kimahri took place with the others. He tried to think of how he would work this out. He felt best at ease if he started out more or less at front, so it was perhaps better to try and push himself forward at the start.

Then a shot was fired and they were off, Kimahri immediately pushed himself off to try and take lead, but it appeared that the man Felix was also sprinting forward. With the other starting out slow, he thought it was best to maintain a position in getting either along with Felix or behind him. As long as he kept somewhere near front it made him feel good, but keeping a sprint up was not a good idea. If the red-haired male thought to sprint all the way, then the Ronso expected to find him collapsed alongside the road somewhere along the way.

[OOC: Sorry, my lack of muse really makes me wonder what to post. @_@;;][rand=0708543567452579757049350091256212791219633072615626234089024365]

[Sora]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,480px,true][atrb=cellpadding,3px,true][atrb=cellspacing,3px,true][bg=939d8f] Speed kills, with presence of mind; Speed kills if you know what I mean [dice=6] The race had gone off to a fantastic start. Sora had kept up a really good pace by his own standards, and only had to walk every now and then to catch his breath and let his body rest. He could have jogged all the way, but then he would lose too much stamina and not have enough at the end to catch up to his opponents where it mattered the most. And he was no machine or super-powered being, he was still only human and had his limits. Even while slowing down, he still made sure he was within sight with his fellow competitors so he wouldn't fall behind. What if one of them got exhausted and fell behind? Or even worse, tripped over and hurt themselves, unable to get up? Sora would suppose he would then and only then fall behind, not out of pity at all. But so he could go back and help his opponents up back on their feet, and help them get to the finish line with him. Winning wasn't everything, and a much more important factor kept him motivated during this enduring event; the spirit of competition was inspiring, but more determination was given to him from his feelings of comradarie and sportsmanship. He supposed that's why Riku told him he would always lose to him in a race; why he told him he didn't have what it took to win. Maybe it was just to psyche him out as Riku liked to do, but maybe there was some truth to it as well. That he had that moral fibre in him, that made his conscious weigh on him and think about others first to put ahead before himself. But where Riku had seen it as a weakness, Sora saw it as a strength. But really, they were both, and as long as Riku didn't need a confidence boost that day or Kairi joined them to raise her self-esteem, he could think nothing more than getting himself first across that finish line in the spirit of competitiveness. Feeling he was about at that half-way mile, Sora cheered a little on the inside to himself. Yes, I'm more than half-way there! Feeling perky, he increased his pace just that little bit more. Making sure to drink thoroughly at every watering station, and a bite whenever he could manage it to carbo-load, he always quickly downed his mouthful either way. Not allowing chewing or swallowing to distract him from his pacing, he instead focused on his goals that Hercules had come up with as a way to keep him focused throughout the race. Oh, the power to be strong And the wisdom to be wise All these things will come to you in time On this journey that you're making There'll be answers that youll seek And its you who'll climb the mountain Its you who'll reach the peak Hercules advised that he try to guess where he was in the race by knowing what his pace was, and how far a distance he could make per hour. Judging by this, he estimated he was a good three-quarters done with the race some time later. The next goal he had set up in mind was to get over the next hill, and then he would increase his pace. It was a rather steep incline, but no matter how steep it became, he was glad to find he still had the energy to increase his pace rather than slow down. He didn't even feel tired at all, and the next goal he had set in mind was to increase this pace and jog as fast as he could for the last quarter of the race. Though there's no-one there to guide you No-one to take your hand On this difficult journey You'll make from boy to man He really hoped his other competitors could keep up the pace with him, as he had kept them in his sights for the entire race. Pouring on the speed, he made a small goal behind his main goal to pass them, and continue passing them if they caught up to him. He could feel his body starting to ache and his lungs burning slightly in his chest to keep up with his exhausted stamina, but the rest of him felt immensely invigorated to press on and keep up the pace. Looking ahead now he had passed a few miles, he could see the finish line in sight. He felt extremely excellent and proud of himself he had managed to keep going this far during all that distance he endured, but it felt even better to just keep running and be free. In learning you will teach And in teaching you will learn You'll find your place beside the ones you love Oh, and all the things you dreamed of The visions that you saw Well, the time is drawing near now It's yours to claim it all Seeing all the sights from a relaxed point of view, enjoying the fresh air and the great outdoors, Sora wouldn't take it all for granted as he neared the finish line. His body ached for rest and his skin sweating profusely, but he would not give up so close to his final goal. As the finish line finally came in sight, a exhilarated hitch of his breath blew through into his body, and was exhaled in a laugh mixed with excitement and relief. He increased his jogging suddenly into a sprint as if he were running down the full length of the beach back on his island, picturing the soft warm sand beneath his feet and every tree and stepping stone in between. When he finally zipped over the finish line, he slowed down back into a walk, and made sure to walk off his momentum so his body would not collapse into exhaustion and shut completely down. That had been fun! And awesome! All he had left to do now was look for the results to see how he did, and even if he did not win, he felt lucky enough to have been on a run with such interesting opponents on this momentous occasion. And Hades hadn't even interfered yet. That had to be a great sign! "Yeah!" he hollered, pumping one fist after the other into the air, just thrilled that he'd been able to finish let alone if he had won. Son of man, look to the sky Lift your spirit, set it free Someday you'll walk tall with pride Son of man, a man in time you'll be Looking back at his training over the past few months, he felt a proud sense of accomplishment for not only himself but his new friends in the race he had hoped he had made, and hoped he had made Phil, Hercules and everyone that may have been supporting him proud. Sora has left the thread. (OOC: Lyrics are from Son of Man from the Tarzan movie. This post is interactive if you wish to sing along to the clip. xD; ) TAG Felix, Kimahri SONG The People That We Love by Bush NOTES Sora's going to feel sore after this. xD;

THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY COMATOSE OF ON THE EDGE!

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[Larxene]

Please get in your final posts within the next 12 hours! Thank you!

[kimahri]

[dice=6]

The race seemed to go well. Kimahri kept up a speed he could hold without tiring himself too quickly nor went too slow. He simply jogged forward to get to the end. As long as nothing happened, it felt good to continue like this. He wasn’t too sure if anyone would be trying anything during this race. Perhaps even outsiders interfering, but so far everything seemed to go well.

With that thought out, Kimahri figured it would be best to continue at this pace and when getting nearer to speed forward. He didn’t plan to use any abilities or tricks in the race, instead making this more of an honorable battle. Only it was a battle of speed where one had to get to the finish first instead of the usual.

He hoped Yuna was doing alright, knowing the masses of villains that were active in these sports. He did not really understand what their goal was, to actually participate in sports or to cause trouble. Maybe they had their plans hidden and there were members of their group moving while the others kept everyone busy.

Kimahri figured it was best to take a good look around the place after the race. He continued to further and could see he was getting close to the finish. With all his might, he launched himself in a dash forward. Speeding forward was no problem for the Ronso and having been used to worse terrains, he didn’t see the chance of tripping while he moved at his fastest to the finish. Now it was just to see who would win this race.

[OOC: Fail post is fail... Sorry for the lateness. Well, it's still within the set time (a little less than an hour of time I have left). Really need some muse. Sorry for not having a song... not my type of thing, I guess? o.o; Thanks for the race!][rand=2182281999848783655765069415792897808499215170747550855935551226]

[Larxene]

The winner of the event, after careful reviewing from the staff, are as follows:

1st Place - Sora
2nd Place - Felix
3rd Place - Kimahri

If you have any questions or concerns about anything, feel free to pm an administrator.