The Unethical Cross-Country Runner

Years ago, I coached a promising young cross-country runner named Bret.  He liked to run and was a personable young man.  I enjoyed coaching him and looked forward to seeing him improve and become a great runner. 

We hosted a small meet against a few other schools.  The race began, and at the first mile, Bret was at the front of the pack.  I was excited to see him doing well and as the runners made their turn into the park, I went back to the finish line to await the outcome.

Imagine my excitement when Bret emerged in first place, and far ahead of the second-place runner!  Bret easily won, and our team celebrated the victory.  Our celebration didn’t last long though.  A coach from another team approached me and told me he thought Bret had cheated.

I had someone at each mile marker during the race, so I checked Bret’s splits.  His overall time was just over 16:30. His first mile was 6:30, his third mile was 6:30, leaving the second mile somewhere around four minutes which a high school runner has never done during a 5-kilometer race.  It was apparent that Bret had cheated.

When I asked Bret if he cheated, he responded with, “No, I didn’t, sir.”

I laid out the facts and explained that other runners hadn’t even seen him after the first mile of the race.  I explained that it wasn’t possible to run a four-minute mile in the middle of a high school cross-country race.

“I’m being framed” he replied.

Bret never confessed to cheating during the race.  He was adamant that he had run the entire course even when there were witnesses and evidence to the contrary.  His ability to perpetuate a lie was concerning.   He had a hard time making the right choice and taking responsibility not only in this instance, but it happened on several other occasions as well.  He soon became known for being untruthful.  As a result of that, his school relationships became strained and he transferred to another school the next year.

In the book, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership by Craig Johnson, the following excerpt is written:

One of the ways in which we build character is by doing well through our habits.  Habits are repeated routines or practices designed to foster virtuous behavior.  Examples of good habits include working hard, telling the truth, standing up to peer pressure and always turning in original work for school assignments.

 Every time we engage in one these habits, it leaves a trace or residue.  Over time, these residual effects become part of our personality and are integrated into character.

In Bret’s case, he had developed poor character based upon previous choices and he had lost the ability to tell the truth.  This was reflected in the cross-country race.  Bret’s character made it difficult to trust him.

Trust is one of the core spiritual values found in the charism of the Xaverian Brothers.  This is the same order which founded and sponsors our school.  The Brothers exemplified trust in God as they responded in faith and courage as they began establishing their first schools.  There is a phrase, originally in Latin, which means all with God, nothing without God.  It is this kind of trust we foster in the students who attend our school.  It is from this trust our students develop strong character and demonstrate behavior that makes them trustworthy as well. 

My prayer is as students grow in their faith, they would continue to establish habits of being trustworthy and continue to become young men and women of character.