The Winner Who Always Finished Last

On this episode of Our American Stories, Saje Hellstern was the fastest runner on his cross-country team and consistently finished near the top. After doctors discovered a tumor in his brain, he endured over a year of radiation and chemotherapy. But that didn’t stop him from running—or finishing his races. Here to share Saje’s story is his stepfather, Roger—a regular contributor to Our American Stories.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American people.
Up next, we have another listener's story sent to us
from Roger Wrench in Iowa. Today, Roger is sharing a
story about his stepson Stage called the winner who always
finished last.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
This is the story of the kid who finished last
every time he ran on the slowest heat with the
slowest runners, and he was the slowest of the slow
often coming in several seconds behind the other runners. For
three years, in track meet after track meet after track meet,

(00:54):
he finished last. It had not always been so. In
seventh grade, he was the fastest kid on his cross
country team and competed with the best runners from the
other schools. In his last meet, he finished twelfth out
of one hundred and sixty nine runners, and the other
eleven ahead of him were all a year older. In

(01:17):
eighth grade, he loved running and looked forward to getting
better and faster. Then tragedy struck. A tumor was found
in the back of his brain. This after a lifelong
genetic disease had limited his physical activity his whole life.

(01:38):
Running was the first athletic thing he was able to
do and now that was being taken away. He endured
a year and a half of radiation and chemo. Because
of his rare disease, sometimes the doctors weren't sure how
to treat him. There were difficult days, including seventeen in

(01:59):
a row where he was unconscious for most of it
over the Christmas holiday. The tumor was removed quickly after
being discovered. He made it through treatment in many months
of physical therapy. For four years now he's been in remission,
but cancer left its mark. His radiation and chemo treatment

(02:22):
stole much of his physical strength, balance, speed, and endurance.
That seventh grade flier is long gone, but he ran anyway.
He joined his track team and competed as hard as
he could. He ran his best every race and improved

(02:45):
his personal best time. He cheered on his teammates and
inspired them every time he ran. Though the clock said
he came in last again and again. Those who know
him would tell you a much different story. So when
his mom and I walk Sage out onto the track
on senior night, we couldn't have been prouder. In the

(03:09):
bulletin noting his plans after high school graduation were these
words of his own In this life, you will experience
hardship and tribulation, but don't let those life altering experiences
define you as a person. Write your own story. Defy

(03:30):
the odds, Sage Helster. Real winners are not the ones
with the fastest times. They're the ones who keep running
and always give their best. They never give up. They
take their tests and make it their testimony. They turn

(03:51):
their tragedies into triumph. They inspire others to make the
most of what they have. They believe there is pers
in all of life's challenges, and they do their best
while cheering others on to greatness. The clock may tell
one story, but their lives tell another. This is the

(04:13):
story of a runner who could have quit when tragedy
struck and never set foot on a track again. Instead,
he laced up his shoes and endured the humiliation of
finishing last every time because he loved to run and
inspire others. Sometimes he wonders what could have been. What

(04:38):
if he never got cancer? How fast would he be
able to run? Could he have won some medals and
gone to state Those questions will always linger in his head.
But he gave us all with what he had. That's
all any of us can do. Sage has developed others

(05:00):
skills in life that he's working on, things like music.
He taught himself to play guitar and recorded some of
his own songs. He even performed them before his peers.
He's worked extremely hard to develop that talent with years
of hard work, and he knows that probably wouldn't have
happened if it weren't for cancer. His attitude, faith and

(05:26):
trust in God's purpose for his life has grown by
leaps and bounds, and he's still running as fast as
his remaining strength and endurance will take him. Clocks don't
determine the winners. People do by the way they choose

(05:47):
to live. They're the ones who keep running and never
give up, no matter what obstacles they face or what
life throws at them. Sage will keep running his race.
Let's all follow his example and run our race with perseverance.
Let's keep doing our best every day. Forget about everyone

(06:10):
else and stay focused on improving ourselves and getting better
each day. Let's take what we've been given and make
the most of it. To all the winners who never finish.
First Roger.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
And a special thanks to Madison for her work on
the production of that piece, and a special thanks to
Roger Wench in Iowa, a listener and a contributor. Thanks
also to Sage for providing his example write your own story.
Sage said, defy the odds, and Roger put it right.
Clocks don't determine winners. People do. And Sage will keep

(06:54):
running his race. And that's what we all have to
do in the end, folks, we have to keep running
our race. My favorite quote on all of this comes
from one of my heroes, John Wooden, who said about success,
success is peace of mind, which is a direct result
of self satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to
become the best of which you are capable. And Sage's

(07:15):
life is a living example. Sage's story, so many of
us running our own race, maybe not getting the Blue ribbon,
or running anyway and running for the joy of it.
This is our American stories. Here are our American stories.
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(07:35):
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(07:56):
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