The theme of The Race is related to this picture of Kenenisa Bekele, an Ethiopian runner who has competed in the Olympics many times. In total he has won fourteen gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal. Its relations to the theme are obvious. 
In The Race Greg is explaining the struggle in which he grew up but he used a race as a metaphor to explain it better. Kenenisa is an actual runner and this picture shows him completing a race and coming in first place. Greg’s poem explained the same thing because he eventually succeeded by completing his race of life even though he was not running in a real race.
Also, though it is not shown in the picture, Kenenisa was too raised in a rough neighborhood and lived in poverty. But he still managed to become a great runner despite the unsafe environment he grew up in. In the picture, he is the only one that is seen and there are no other runners in sight because when the bell rang for the last lap of the race, he began to sprint leaving his competitors behind. This was his tactic in order for him to win the race. This relates to The Race because Greg mentions that he had to let go of the things that were stopping him from winning his race of life. This is seen in the line where Greg wrote, “Step two, I need ya’ll to be careful of who’s runnin’ with you, cus’ if they ain’t positive you need to sprint and leave your crew."
The picture shows Kenenisa running and coming in first but he did not become the outstanding runner he is without training. The reason this relates to the theme of The Race is because when Greg was comparing his life to those who lived in nicer neighborhoods he wrote, “Yo dis’ race can’t be fair! How come my hurdles look higher than theirs? I been training on Metro Housing stairs. While their plush facilities enhance their agility and upward mobility, leaving me gasping for air.” In that line, Greg explains how he had a harder childhood than his “competitors” in life because while they had the easy lifestyle where things were handed to them, he had to try harder than them to earn the things he wanted. This relates to the picture of Kenenisa because he had to train harder than most considering his environment and Greg mentions how he had to train on “Metro Housing stair” even though he was referring to his life rather than a race.
Lastly, in the picture you see Kenenisa running with his arms spread out to the sides, celebrating his victory of coming in first place. The relation that this has to the theme of The Race is that at the end of the poem Greg talks about how you cannot only be thinking about doing things quickly because when you take your time, it shows in the results. This is seen where he wrote, “True, there’s a thirst for first, but speed and greed won’t help you take the lead. It’s endurance and stamina that separates the pros from the amateurs and determines who succeeds.” Even though Kenenisa did come in first, “endurance” and “stamina” were really needed because he was running 10,000 meters so he had to keep himself at a steady pace.
In The Race Greg is explaining the struggle in which he grew up but he used a race as a metaphor to explain it better. Kenenisa is an actual runner and this picture shows him completing a race and coming in first place. Greg’s poem explained the same thing because he eventually succeeded by completing his race of life even though he was not running in a real race.
Also, though it is not shown in the picture, Kenenisa was too raised in a rough neighborhood and lived in poverty. But he still managed to become a great runner despite the unsafe environment he grew up in. In the picture, he is the only one that is seen and there are no other runners in sight because when the bell rang for the last lap of the race, he began to sprint leaving his competitors behind. This was his tactic in order for him to win the race. This relates to The Race because Greg mentions that he had to let go of the things that were stopping him from winning his race of life. This is seen in the line where Greg wrote, “Step two, I need ya’ll to be careful of who’s runnin’ with you, cus’ if they ain’t positive you need to sprint and leave your crew."
The picture shows Kenenisa running and coming in first but he did not become the outstanding runner he is without training. The reason this relates to the theme of The Race is because when Greg was comparing his life to those who lived in nicer neighborhoods he wrote, “Yo dis’ race can’t be fair! How come my hurdles look higher than theirs? I been training on Metro Housing stairs. While their plush facilities enhance their agility and upward mobility, leaving me gasping for air.” In that line, Greg explains how he had a harder childhood than his “competitors” in life because while they had the easy lifestyle where things were handed to them, he had to try harder than them to earn the things he wanted. This relates to the picture of Kenenisa because he had to train harder than most considering his environment and Greg mentions how he had to train on “Metro Housing stair” even though he was referring to his life rather than a race.
Lastly, in the picture you see Kenenisa running with his arms spread out to the sides, celebrating his victory of coming in first place. The relation that this has to the theme of The Race is that at the end of the poem Greg talks about how you cannot only be thinking about doing things quickly because when you take your time, it shows in the results. This is seen where he wrote, “True, there’s a thirst for first, but speed and greed won’t help you take the lead. It’s endurance and stamina that separates the pros from the amateurs and determines who succeeds.” Even though Kenenisa did come in first, “endurance” and “stamina” were really needed because he was running 10,000 meters so he had to keep himself at a steady pace.
(The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeChblyOhrA&NR=1)
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