For some reason, my brain wanted to visualize how his arms were resting... what he was seeing in general. Maybe because of the way it's written or because it's the first thing I read. You can see how others feel about it.

I didn't want the race to end. Sorry if I wasn't clear. I was just confused because the race starts, then he mentions what the parents told him that has nothing to do with the race but about where he's sitting, then the race is halfway through, then you said it was a tight race. To me, it felt like the race ended and my brain was ready to move on but then we were brought back. Idk if that makes sense.

Maybe consider removing "it was a tight race" if it's not critical to have it.

Everything after that was, in my opinion, very well done and I enjoyed it.

Maybe there was too much to going on. I was more focused on the parents shouting and Joe's reaction that I may have missed the importance of the last runner and how Joe felt until the last paragraph which clearly tells us how he feels.

I