Sprinters

They were at a large social gathering of some sort. Rock wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it had the feel of summer camp. An old man had popped off all day about how fast he could run, and Rock and a teenage boy were about to race him. Rock couldn't wait.
It was finally time. Three sets  of blocks were set up on the edge of a field, but it was clear they had been poorly designed. The foot pads were inside metal wire cages, and it was difficult for Rock and his opponents to fit their legs inside the cage and even harder to get them out. When the command to start came, each of them struggled to free their legs. They all fell, and no race truly took place.
Rock had grown tired of hearing the man brag, and he insisted they hold their own race.
"Come on, man, let's race. I'll blow you away," he said.
The old man agreed, but as they walked away from the group, Rock noticed that he had wooden legs, with round wooden pegs for feet. They started jogging together but were soon running fast across hard-packed dirt. Rock felt great. It was apparent that the old man did, too, despite his lack of real legs. They were both perfectly content to run together, fast across the ground.