The marathon man

Ben loves sports, he believes that being a sportsman is the best way to remain physically healthy. He loves running in the marathon, he enjoys competing with others to gauge just how good he is after dedicating most of his time training for the sport he loves the most. One day, he saw a brochure promoting a 26.2 miles local marathon race that is scheduled in a month time, and he was ecstatic to join it. So, he started to train intensively and diligently, taking more extra hours to be on the top form when the day comes.

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The race was about to start, and Ben is filled with confidence that he will be able to spring a few surprises this time around. He has trained really well, and he believes that there is a chance that he will be in the top three, who knows, he might even be able to win this race for the first time. All the runners get ready at the starting line, the starter pistol made a loud bang and everyone started to run, trying to get ahead of each other. For a seasoned marathoner, Ben knew all well that being in front at the beginning of the race means nothing. It's a long distance run, endurance and consistency are the main keys to finish off the race strongly and he was right. After running half of the race, there are only five people leading at the top including Ben, and he is behind two guys who are in front of him, just a few meters apart. I will increase my tempo in the last five miles, right now I just need to keep up with these two guys, Ben thought.

It was scorching hot during the race, how Ben wish that the cloud could at least cover up the sun for a moment, and cast a shadow over the trail that he is running, the air could then be much cooler and more bearable, but he has anticipated such harsh temperature during the race and was ready to face it. The other two runners in front of him look like slowing down, maybe they are affected by the heat, but Ben's steps are still consistent, his training all this while has really paid off. He will be able to overtake the two guys even before the final five miles, sooner than he expected. He overtook the two runners, and he started to increase his speed a little, only seven more miles to go, and he begins to distance himself further and further away from the other runners.

Upfront will be the most difficult trail of the race, a one and a half miles of uneven terrains and hills, and it troubles his mind a little. Will he be able to get through it unscathed? It worries him, but he knows the others will face the same problem as he is, he just needs to be extra careful with his steps, he will need to slow down if he has to. Ben drops his pace as he reached the rough trail, he made a quick glance behind him to check the other runners but to his surprise, he couldn't see them, they are way behind him right now, the temperature must have taken its toll on them. Better be safe than sorry, Ben carefully planned his steps, his eyes gaze forward, looking at the path in front of him, there are a few slippery trails ahead, the ground is cushioned by small tiny pebbles, one wrong step and he could slip and might get injured. He kept on running, the trail was as difficult as he has foreseen, running up and down the hills while taking care of your steps is no easy feat, but nevertheless, he made it through and it was such a big relief.

Another mile to go, he can already visualize the finishing line and the crowd applauding him for his victorious triumph, alas he felt some pain in his ankle, must be when he almost slipped at some point of the rough trail where he misjudged his steps. The pain became even sharper, but he has to go on, there is no point of stopping now, he will keep on going even if he has to drag his self over the finish line. Ben was grimacing with pain, he can barely step on his right foot, only a hundred yards left, he now looks like skipping on one foot towards the finish line, the crowd keeps on cheering him up.

He heard an ever louder cheering behind him, he looked and saw the two other runners running side by side trying to catch up to him. Ben skipped even faster and faster, as the sound of the other runner's footsteps gets closer and closer. He made a last ditch leap towards the finish line and stumbled over it before the two runners were able to catch up to him, to the glorious loud cheering that he had ever heard in his life. He has won at last, albeit having to finish up the last hundred yards of the race with one leg. His first marathon wins, and hopefully, it won't be his last.

It took three weeks for Ben's ankle to fully recover, and he is itching to train again. He already set his sight to another marathon race in two months time, and he now knows that if he focuses his mind into it, and train with more discipline, he will be able to win it. His first major win is just the beginning, he now sets his goals to win more races and hoping someday that he will be able to challenge the worlds best.