That evening, after Darius had fallen asleep exhausted from the day's excitement, Elena pulled out her phone on the couch next to Tobias.
"I want to show you something from this morning."
Tobias looked over with curiosity but remained casual, figuring it was just cute kid stuff or maybe Darius playing at the track.
She played the video and at first Tobias had the standard parent pride reaction as he watched his son running. At first it seemed adorable, but then he actually paid attention and watched Darius's form and the way he ran, and he stopped smiling.
"Wait, can you rewind that?"
Elena did, and he watched it again before asking to see it a third time.
"His arms," Tobias said while pointing at the screen. "Look at his arms."
Elena nodded because she'd noticed the same thing too.
"And his feet. Is he... is that foot placement normal?"
They both watched it again in silence as they observed the technique that shouldn't be there and the efficiency that didn't make sense for a three-year-old.
"How fast was that?" Tobias asked.
"24.7 seconds."
He blinked at the number. "Is that good for a three-year-old?"
"I don't know," Elena admitted honestly. "I've never timed a three-year-old before, but it's not about the time anyway. It's about how he ran."
Tobias took the phone and watched it again. "Where did he learn this?"
"He says from TV, from watching races."
"That's not possible because you can't just learn technique from watching."
"That's what I said too." Elena gestured at the phone screen with frustration. "But there's the evidence right in front of us."
They sat there in silence while watching the video loop, seeing their three-year-old son running with form that shouldn't exist in someone so young.
"He asked to come back," Elena said quietly. "To the track. I said yes."
Tobias nodded slowly while still staring at the phone.
"What does this mean?" he finally asked.
Elena shook her head because she genuinely didn't know the answer. "I don't know."
"Is he actually talented?"
"I think so, yes."
"So what do we do about it?"
That was the question Elena had been thinking about all day. "He's only three, which means he's too young for any real programs or teams, but he clearly loves it and I mean genuinely loves it."
Tobias thought back to the Quincy Hall race and how focused Darius had been during it. At the time, Tobias thought it was cute, but now he realized it was something more than just childish enthusiasm.
"Do we encourage this?" Elena asked while looking at him. "Or pull back and let him be a normal kid?"
"Can't we do both and find a middle ground?"
Elena was quiet for a moment as she considered it. "I've seen child prodigies in sports before, and I know about the pressure and the burnout that comes from parents pushing too hard until kids lose their love for the sport. I don't want that for Darius."
"But I've also seen talented kids never develop their potential," Tobias countered thoughtfully, "because parents didn't take it seriously or couldn't afford coaching or didn't have access to the right resources. We're fortunate to have access."
Elena acknowledged the point with a nod because they did have advantages that most families didn't. "What does middle ground look like?"
They worked through it together over the next hour. Support him without pushing. Make it fun instead of forced. If he wants to run, he runs, but if he doesn't, there's no pressure. No expectations placed on him beyond what he wants for himself. But they give him the opportunity and provide access to pursue his passion if he chooses.
"How do we actually support a three-year-old, though?" Tobias raised the practical issue that had been bothering him. "No track club takes kids that young, and youth programs start at six or seven typically."
Elena sat with that obstacle for a moment while thinking through possibilities. "I could work with him."
Tobias looked at her with surprise.
"I'm already training anyway," she continued while explaining her reasoning. "Darius wants to come to the track, so I could let him run around and show him basics while keeping it playful."
"You're not a sprint coach."
"No, I'm not," she admitted upfront. "It's a different event entirely from what I do, but I know running in general. I understand form and effort levels and fundamentals. The universal principles. That's enough to guide a three-year-old. When he's older and still interested, we can find him a real sprint coach who specializes in that event. But for now, I can handle it."
"Are you really okay with this, though?" Tobias asked with concern. "Taking Darius to your training sessions and adding that responsibility to your own training?"
Elena smiled at his worry. "I brought him today without planning it, and it was actually good. It was nice to see him love what I love and share that passion with him. I'd be okay with it, more than okay actually."
A plan was forming between them as they talked it through. For the next two years until he was five, Elena would bring him to her training sessions and let him run and play and explore the track. She'd show him basics when he was interested while keeping it informal and fun. No structure, no pressure. Just exposure and opportunity. At five, if he was still passionate about it, they'd look into actual youth programs and find a proper coach who could work with him more seriously. But that was years away, and for now, this approach felt right to both of them.
The next morning at breakfast, Darius was eating messily as three-year-olds do when Elena and Tobias exchanged glances. It was time to make it official and ask what he wanted.
"Did you have fun at the track yesterday?" Elena asked.
Darius responded enthusiastically mid-bite with food still in his mouth.
"Would you want to come again when I go to train?"
His reaction was even bigger than before, and he nearly choked on his cereal. Tobias had to pat his back while laughing at the enthusiasm.
Elena explained what it would mean in practical terms. Coming a few times a week. Running around while she trained. Sometimes running together when it made sense.
Darius's eyes went wide with excitement. "Really?"
"Really."
"How often?"
"As often as you want."
His yes was immediate and loud as he bounced in his high chair with clear enthusiasm that couldn't be contained. He wanted to run like her and wanted to go to the track and could barely sit still with the excitement.
Tobias stepped in with ground rules because someone had to be practical. Darius needed to listen to Elena and needed to be safe. Stay where she could see him. No wandering off the track area. Darius nodded seriously at each point while agreeing to all of it and willing to promise anything to make this happen.
Elena added her own guidelines on top of Tobias's rules. Only goes if he wants to, and he can skip days if tired or not feeling it. This is supposed to be fun, not a chore or obligation. The moment it stops being fun, they stop. Does he understand?
Darius nodded but added that he wouldn't want to stop because he liked running and liked it a lot.
Elena and Tobias exchanged looks because yeah, they could see that. It was obvious in every fiber of his being.
Darius tried not to seem too eager as he sat there. He had to stay in character as a three-year-old and couldn't reveal how much he really understood or how much he'd been waiting for this moment. Twenty-five years of waiting, and now he got to train with actual training, even if informal, with an Olympic athlete who happened to be his mother. Perfect circumstances and exactly what he needed.
Later that day while Darius was napping, Elena sat alone thinking and processing what they'd decided. The responsibility she was taking on wasn't just training herself anymore, but guiding her three-year-old son through something that could become his whole life.
She had concerns about the situation. She ran distance while he'd sprint, which meant different energy systems and different training methodologies and different race strategies entirely. But fundamentals overlapped between all running events. Form, effort levels, recovery, mental approach to training—those were universal principles that applied regardless of distance.
She pulled out her laptop and searched for information about child development and athletics, youth running programs, what three-year-olds can safely do physically. Most sources said just play and have unstructured movement, which was fine because that's what she'd planned anyway.
She made mental notes as she researched. Keep it short because a three-year-old attention span is limited. Keep it fun with games instead of drills. Keep it safe with no real intensity, just movement and joy. Keep it varied with not just running but jumping and playing and exploring.
Her philosophy was simple when she thought it through: build love of the sport first, and everything else comes later. Technique can be refined over time. Speed can be developed with proper training. But passion has to be genuine and has to come from within the athlete themselves. Her job was to nurture it, not force it.
She thought about her schedule and how this would work practically. She trained six days a week typically with morning sessions being her preference. She wouldn't bring Darius every time because that would be too much. Maybe three times a week? Monday, Wednesday, Friday perhaps. That kept it regular but not overwhelming and left room for him to be a normal kid with playdates and preschool when he started and family time.
The sprint coach question lingered in her mind as something she'd need to address eventually. She knew she'd need help eventually, probably within a year when he got more serious. Her coach knew sprint coaches because the track community was connected. When the time came, she'd reach out and find someone who worked with young kids, someone patient who understood child development. But that was future planning that didn't need to happen today.
For now, the plan was simple enough that she felt comfortable with it. Bring him to the track. Let him run. Let him explore. Answer his questions. Show him what she knows. Keep it light and keep it fun and see where it goes naturally.
A few days later on Monday morning, Elena's alarm went off at 5:45 AM, but this time she expected company. She got herself ready first with her usual routine, then went to Darius's room to wake him.
He was already awake and sitting up in bed waiting for her. She'd told him last night that this was their first official track day together, and he remembered because of course he remembered something this important to him.
She helped him dress in his little track outfit with track pants and t-shirt and tiny running shoes. He insisted on wearing them to breakfast and she didn't argue because his excitement was contagious enough that she didn't want to dampen it.
Tobias was up early to see them off, which was sweet of him since he didn't usually wake this early. He made them breakfast, though Darius could barely eat because he was too excited and too eager to get to the track. Tobias reminded him to listen to his mom, and Darius promised with all the seriousness a three-year-old could muster.
In the car with the sun not quite up yet, Darius sat in his car seat wide awake and looking out the window at the passing scenery. Elena glanced at him in the rearview mirror and thought about how this was really happening now. Her son was training with her at three years old, which seemed surreal when she thought about it.
She hoped she was doing the right thing and hoped she could balance being an athlete and a mother, a coach and a parent, a supporter and a protector. It was a lot to navigate and she wasn't sure she had all the answers. But looking at his face in the mirror and seeing the pure joy and anticipation there, she thought maybe it would be okay.
She pulled into the familiar parking lot where she'd trained for years. Darius tried to unbuckle himself with his small hands and she helped him out, then took his hand in hers. They walked through the gate together and the track stretched before them, empty and quiet and waiting for them to begin.
Elena set down her bag on the bleachers and looked at Darius standing beside her. He was staring at the track with the same wonder as last time, like it was something magical. This was his world now, or at least part of it, and they were really doing this together.
She squeezed his hand gently to get his attention. "Ready?"
He looked up at her with those wide eyes and nodded with certainty.