“The ultimate is not to win, but to reach within the depths of your capabilities and to compete against yourself to the greatest extent possible. When you have that, you have dignity. You have the pride. You can walk about with character and pride no matter in what place you happen to finish. - Billy Mills, 1964 10k Olympic Gold Medalist Two Races No one predicted that William Mervin Mills would win the gold medal in the 10,000 meter run of the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. A member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux Tribe) from South Dakota, Billy was a United States Marine who attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship for his considerable running abilities. Billy faced poverty as a youth, was orphaned at age twelve, and experienced repeated racial prejudice that led to suicidal thoughts. On top of it all, Billy had hypoglycemia, which affected his performance on the track. No one predicted Billy would win in Tokyo — no one, that is, but Billy.Given the internal trauma Billy was dealing with due to racism and other life challenges, he later described the 1964 Olympic 10k as two distinct races: “The first was to heal the broken soul. And in the process, I won an Olympic gold medal.” Let this sink in: Mills won the 10k in Tokyo by beating his previous personal best by nearly 50 seconds. In so doing, he set an Olympic record and became the only American to win gold in this discipline, a feat that holds true nearly 60 years later. Mills’ achievement is difficult to comprehend for anyone who has participated in long-distance running. Improving on personal bests by five or ten seconds after many years of high-level competition is a tremendous accomplishment; bettering one’s personal record over 6.2 miles by almost 50 seconds...