A Smile Mile
Gathered along the start line, spirits were high and smiles were wide. Our muscles were already worn out but nonetheless we were going to do this. It was only a mile, a mile that held so much meaning. A mile to smile, a mile to laugh, a mile to love, a mile to share, a mile for Brooke.
Brooke Bebout, a loved friend and competitor, tragically passed away last Christmas Eve due to a car crash. Despite not having Brooke on the course with us, her spirit is beside us the entire 3.1 miles. Brooke Bebout was a Heath athlete that ran cross country and played softball. Bebout was known throughout the community as a well rounded athlete with a bright spirit.
Saturday, September 22, Heath City Schools hosted their annual Don Hardin Cross Country invitational. Each year, many Licking County teams gather at Gellar Park to run our usual races. The event hadn’t been hosted in Gellar park for two years due to scheduling conflicts with the park but as we all gathered on the start line on Saturday, we knew that’s exactly where we were meant to run. It was the usual Don Hardin Invite but with another meaning behind it; it was the first time we were running it without Brooke. Races went on like normal but it was after the races that the heart's got heavy and some tears were shed. A one mile fun run, donation only, held in Brooke’s honor. All money raised would go directly into the Brooke Bebout Scholarship fund that will someday benefit a high school student in need.
I gathered my team and we all headed to the start line, all 35 of us. We stood beside the Heath XC team, who just a mere hour ago was our competition, and smiled broadly. Someone had a speaker blasting music and our teams danced and laughed as we awaited on the start line. No matter how competitive we were, we were there for one reason, for Brooke. Heath Cross Country sophomore Adrienne Collier said, “It made me happy that so many teams and people who either new her or didn’t were still willing to come together and do that for her.” Once the race had started spirits still ran high. Along the way, high schoolers were cheering on the younger racers and even offering to run with them. There were teammates holding hands, giving piggyback rides and even skipping across the finish line. Everyone at the race received a medal with Brooke’s picture on it and her number, 443.
The following monday, the Licking Valley team wore their Brooke medals to school. No one wore the medal they had one for their own race, only the one for Brooke. As sad as the occasion was, it was remarkable to see even arch enemies come together and support one another. It was definitely a run worth smiling about. Yeah, a smile mile.