Hurdling adversity: Hogs' Donald overcame poverty to compete

FAYETTEVILLE — It began with a gunshot. A blank fired from the starter’s pistol triggered the clock and began the 2016 Texas Relays 400-meter hurdle final.

Then 21 steps.

Twenty-one steps from the starting blocks to the first of 10 36-inch high hurdles. The remaining 350 meters and nine hurdles went by in a similar fashion, with each explosion over a hurdle slowing the runners as their bodies tired.

The clock paused on the screen above the first turn on the track. The winner’s time of 50.91 seconds popped up, a confirmation that some of the NCAA’s best sprinters just performed. For Arkansas' Larry Donald, it was a monumental performance, but it was hardly the biggest challenge of his life.

While…