Sunny Lancaster is a member of the Defenders track team and dominates in the mile event, yet he feels unfulfilled as a runner. Sunny’s character development corresponds with him learning how to advocate for himself and what he wants. An example of this is when Sunny tells Darryl he no longer wants to run. Darryl asks him to think about his mother’s legacy and Sunny asks him “but when do I get to run MY race?” (90). This is the first time Sunny vocally stands up for himself and expresses a desire for something that he wants, rather than what his father expects of him. Darryl is at first surprised by Sunny’s question, but this opens the door for them to ultimately make a positive change in their relationship.

Throughout his process of self-discovery, Sunny struggles to overcome the burden he feels because of his mother, who died shortly after his birth. Sunny struggles with feelings of inadequacy and guilt over his mother’s death. He believes: “She’s not here because I am. Because of me. Because something is wrong with me, Diary, which made something wrong with her” (9-10). He writes in his diary that he sometimes feels like a murderer, and the weight of this statement presses down on him.