Although the story is called “Raymond’s Run,” Squeaky shows little interest in Raymond until the closing paragraphs. For most of the story, she is obsessed with her own achievements. Although Squeaky will compete with anyone she considers a worthy opponent, including her father, she is particularly focused on rivalries with other girls.

The first rival Squeaky discusses in any detail is Cynthia Procter. She particularly dislikes Cynthia because she pretends that she never practices piano or studies for tests, cultivating an attitude of effortless superiority which suggests that she is so talented that she does not need to work. Squeaky says bluntly that she could kill people who behave like this, and she deeply resents Cynthia beating her in the spelling bee, for which she studied all night.

However, it is Gretchen, the new girl in school, who is Squeaky’s most serious rival. The first fact Squeaky mentions about Gretchen is that she has “put out the tale that she is going to win the first-place medal” in the fifty-yard dash. Although Squeaky dismisses this boast as absurd, her pugnacity clearly masks insecurity and concern, since so much of her identity is based on her success as a runner.

When Squeaky encounters Gretchen on Broadway, she describes the ensuing stand-off as “one of those Dodge City scenes.” The other girls with Gretchen are not friends but “sidekicks,” and Squeaky does not even speak to them, since she believes there is “no use wasting my breath talking to shadows.” All her energy is concentrated on her rivalry with Gretchen, until a sudden moment of good humor and mutual respect in the final paragraph of the story puts an end to their animosity.