The operative phrase in Tennessee for several weeks was a “Race to the Top.”
The better question: the top of what?
The answer is not an athletic quest to move to the highest rung of the latest Associated Press poll or to be the best runner from a field of many in a foot race.
This race is about more than short-term gratification from riding atop a fluid rating system or knowing you were able to push yourself physically to post a better time.
It also is about more than money.