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Reinaldo, executive of a marketing company, has 1 son, Oscar, who is a great athlete and is training to attend a marathon, that is his preferred discipline. One day Oscar told his father that they should run together, that this would help him to maintain his health. Reinaldo took it as a joke, however his son insisted, telling him that it was time to take care of himself and running is one of the best ways to do it. Reinaldo told him that he would think about it.

At work, he told his colleagues that he would start running with his son, he said it quite proudly. Of course, there is never a lack of someone who makes unhealthy and tasteless comments. Germán, one of his classmates, told him that at his age that was impossible, that he would never be able to keep up with him and that he was betting that he would stop before completing the first kilometer. Patricia, one of the secretaries encouraged her, commenting that it would be a good experience, that she should try it. That's when the boss arrives and asks about what's going on, Germán comments in a mocking tone that Reinaldo was crazy, he was planning to run the marathon in the city in 3 months with his son, his boss looked at him and asked him if he was serious, to which Reinaldo said yes, but there was a very long silence...

Reinaldo was a bundle of nerves as he waited for his boss to respond. He knew that running a marathon was a huge challenge, especially for someone who had never run in a competition before. But he wanted to make his son proud and didn’t want to let him down. Finally, his boss spoke up.

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^{Image by Drazen Zigic on Freepik}

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“Reinaldo, I gotta say, I’m impressed by your ambition to run the marathon with your son,” his boss said kindly. “You gotta be real with yourself. Have you ever run before?”

Reinaldo shook his head. “Nope,” he admitted. “But I’m willing to give it a try. I wanna show my son that I can do it.”

His boss nodded understandingly. “I respect that, Reinaldo. And it’s a noble goal. But running a marathon ain’t no joke. You gotta train properly and take care of your body.”

Reinaldo nodded, feeling a bit daunted by the task ahead of him. But he was also determined to succeed. “I’m not giving up,” he said firmly.

Over the next few days, Reinaldo threw himself into his training. He started by walking a few kilometres every day and gradually worked his way up to running short distances. At first, it was tough. His legs ached and he was huffing and puffing after just a few minutes of running. But he didn’t give up and kept pushing himself harder every day.

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As he trained, he felt stronger and more energized. He slept like a baby at night and his mood improved. He started to understand why his son was so passionate about running.

One day, a few weeks into his training, Reinaldo’s boss popped into his office to check on him. “How’s the training going?” he asked.

Reinaldo grinned from ear to ear. “It’s going great,” he said proudly. “This is becoming less daunting. I could really make this happen.”

His boss smiled warmly back at him. “That’s fantastic news, Reinaldo! Keep up the good work and remember we’re all rooting for you.”

Reinaldo couldn’t thank his friends enough for their advice and support. He was determined to complete the marathon and knew he had to take care of himself during the race.

As the big day approached, Reinaldo’s emotions were all over the place. He had never done anything like this before and couldn’t help but wonder if he was ready. But knowing that his son and co-workers were cheering him on gave him the strength to keep pushing forward.

On race day, Reinaldo and his son joined the other runners at the starting line. The atmosphere was electric, with music pumping and people shouting words of encouragement. As the starting gun went off, Reinaldo felt a rush of adrenaline and he and his son took off at a steady pace.

The first few kilometres were tough, but Reinaldo kept going, fuelled by the cheers of the crowd. As he ran with his son, he was filled with pride for the young man he had raised. But Reinaldo felt his legs cramp and his pace drop when they crossed the halfway point. His son was right there with him though, offering words of encouragement and support.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they crossed the finish line together. Reinaldo was exhausted but filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment. He hugged his son tightly as they both cried tears of joy.

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^{I would like to invite @dove11, @senehasa and @paholags to join this contest through this link, if they have not already taken part in it.}

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^{Author: @waqarahmadshah | Date: 19-Apr-2023 | Achievement 1}