"An Uphill Battle" by Elizabeth Miles is a glorifying and triumphant piece.  It is about a dedicated runner who trains each day to perform well in a race.  Then, race day comes.  On this day the anxious narrator puts her training to use.  It is a short piece, but Miles is able to put the reader in the scene very well.  

The author excels in her abilty to use vivid sensory details.  These details make the piece very relatable.  As a cross country runner, i experienced a lot of the pain and i know the mental toughness required to keep running like the narrator did. The finishing kick described was completely accurate."I throw every ounce of strength to my legs and give everything I have left to cross the finish line first." This quote describes shifting gears from complete fatigue to a whole different thing that only runners get. It drives them to speed up, even after they are on the brink of collapse. The relatability that came with this well-written, descriptive article made it worth reading and enjoyable.