Anne Cumbertin found that while many of the events in the IAC mirrored the Olympics, the exact order and sequence of these events did NOT match the Olympics. It seemed to be more and ad hoc sort of thing, which she privately admitted made it inferior to the Olympics, but to a great extent she was more there to have fun than anything else. Especially since so many of the people she'd met since coming to Lyre and joining Animalia had been so friendly to her. Her team was made up of people she'd met while jogging and learned that their jogging was in part training for the IAC, but they'd needed a fourth member to fill out their team. True, the idea to go out for the IAC had been Oscar's idea, but the fact that she'd joined a relay team would mean that others were involved. Thankfully when they pointed her to the relay team that she was on, it included some others that she'd met while jogging.
Her team wasn't too bad. One was actually an uplifted Gazelle named Giselle who found the idea of a race to be both fun and a challenge. Another was human woman who'd become a Cheetah Animalian named Leslie Mitchell, and the third member of the team was human woman named Sonia who became a hedgehog. They'd all met when Anne had gone jogging to stay in shape, and occasionally while she was with Oscar, and had become something of a fairly friendly team. Each had their quirks, which Anne found quite interesting. Sonia, especially, as she had loved the video game character and that had fed her choice of Animal when the "Animalia Virus" was made a legal drug for humans who wanted to be an Animalian. To add to it, she had found a washable dye and used it to dye her spines blue for the race. Giselle and Leslie at times even got competitive with each other, but kept any rivalry friendly enough that they still had fun. And all of them had a fairly good sense of humor, which when Anne occasionally slipped into French or her accept came through occasionally lead to Monty Python references, though with the time now... Anne figured she would have to see them now.
At the moment, though, they were all gathered at the Lyre High School's track area that surrounded the football field for their event. Many aspects of the IAC were being held at various spots around Lyre and Animalia as the needs of the situation required. The wrestling and other "combat" sports were in Animalia's "coliseum," track and field was at the Lyre High track, and so on. Anne really didn't know exactly what had been done to arrange for things, but that wasn't really on her mind at the moment. As she glanced into the stands she could see her daughter and Walter seated about halfway up and found herself smiling when she saw Oscar with them.
"You ready, Anne?" came Giselle's voice from behind her.
Anne turned to see the rest of her team standing by and looking to her. They were dressed in uniforms that were similar to what the high school track team wore and they looked to her with some real friendship, which felt quite nice.
"Oui, I am ready," Anne answered, "and my daughter is here to see the rate."
"Oscar is here too," Sonia smiled, "we may have to win just to help you get your man."
Anne was glad that her black fur hid her blush. She did like Oscar, as he was a frequent practice partner when she went for a jog and when her relay team practiced for the IAC, but that didn't mean she really felt boastful about finding someone.
"Let's leave impressing the men for later," Leslie commented, "right now we have a race to win."
Sonia did nod. Anne nodded as well. This race was a pretty typical relay. Each team would run a full lap around the track, when they came to the start line they would pass off the baton to the next member of the team. It was a pretty typical relay race, and Anne could tell that Giselle and Leslie were confident they could win. Anne was partially surprised that they even felt super confident in her, as Walter and Janice had commented that skunks were not known for their speed, which lead Anne to wonder at why a gazelle and a cheetah would be impressed by her speed. But then, Animalians weren't built the way normal animals were. Maybe that was it.
"And remember, we stick to our plan," Giselle spoke, "I'll take the first lap and then hand it off to Sonia. She will then pass it to Leslie. In that we should be able to provide a good lead that you and Sonia can ultimately anchor. In that we'll be counting on you to hold down the last leg."
Everyone nodded to that. Much of Anne's wishes to jog and run were more to maintain her new figure, but joining in the IAC was something that would also be fun. On some level, she also wanted to test and see how fast she really was now, especially when compared to other Animalians. That had lead to some serious practicing when she joined Giselle's team for the relay and had her eager for the race. She could see the eagerness on the faces of the others on her team as well, which provided some confidence.
Anne took her place with Sonia and Leslie on the side of the track while Giselle took her place at the starting line. The race official stood in the front and to the side of the track and raised a starter pistol for all to see. Then then followed the typical start to a race which easily heard. When the official said the last word, go, he fired the starter pistol into the air and the racers were off. Anne watched as Giselle a quick but only small lead over a horse Animalian in one of the other teams. It stayed that was they crossed the halfway point in their lap. As they did so, Sonia and her group made their way out and took in the spot in the proper lane. This of course repeated through the teams went through. Anne was the last.
"You ready to go down?" a coyote Animalian asked as with a small smirk as Anne took her place when it was time to move onto the track.
"Down in history, maybe," Anne replied, "Leslie is in first..."
"She'll likely tire before the end," the coyote Animalian gave a smirk, "and YOU can't use your musk."
"Good thing I've been practicing," Anne answered, "and Sonia didn't do bad in her lap... So... species isn't everything."
The coyote Animalian nodded her head before saying, "Good luck."
"Thanks," Anne answered.
And from there the race went on. Leslie did maintain her lead to hand the baton off to Anne before anyone else did, but it was true that by the end of her lap, it was clear that the coyote's team-mate was catching up. It was enough to make Anne a bit nervousness, but when she started, she went as HARD as she could. She only had to run one lap before the race was over and there was no reason to let herself be fearful. She ran hard and pushed herself. She kept her hes forward and focused on her lane. She managed to hear the coyote Animalian chasing after her and that pushed her hard as she ran around the the track. She kept that going as she came down the track and as she came down the last straightaway, two cheers pushed her forward. One was her daughter's voice and the other was Oscar's. It drover her on and she crossed the line, she didn't see the coyote catching her. and as she looked up to the scoreboard that normally showed the scores for football, she saw the list of names for the first placce finisher in the race...
It read:1) Anne Cumbertin, Leslie Mitchell, Sonia Blake, Giselle. She had won and Anne raised a fist in a cheer of happiness.