I Almost Quit My First Marathon

Six months ago, I ran my very first marathon.

六個月前，我跑了人生第一場馬拉松。

Forty-two kilometres... and I'd never run more than thirty.

四十二公里……而我從來沒跑超過三十公里。

At the start line, my legs were already shaking.

在起跑線上，我的腿就已經在發抖了。

Then the gun went off, and thousands of us started running!

接著鳴槍起跑，我們幾千人一起衝了出去！

Honestly, the first half felt amazing.

說實話，前半段感覺超棒的。

People were cheering, kids were giving out sweets,

大家在歡呼，小朋友在發糖果，

and I thought, wow, this is easy!

我心想，哇，這也太簡單了吧！

Then, at kilometre thirty-two, I hit the wall.

然後，到了第三十二公里，我撞牆了。

Oh, it's hard to explain. My legs just stopped working.

唉，很難解釋。我的腿就是動不了了。

Every step hurt. My head kept telling me to stop.

每一步都好痛。腦袋一直叫我停下來。

So I walked to the side of the road and sat down.

於是我走到路邊，坐了下來。

Well... that's it, I thought. I'm done.

唉……就到這裡吧，我想。我不跑了。

Suddenly, an older runner stopped right in front of me!

突然，一位年長的跑者停在我面前！

He held out his hand and said, come on, run with me.

他伸出手說：來吧，跟我一起跑。

Just to the next lamp post. That's all.

跑到下一根路燈就好。就這樣。

I don't know why, but... I took his hand.

我也不知道為什麼，但是……我握住了他的手。

So we ran from one lamp post to the next.

就這樣，我們從一根路燈跑到下一根。

He told me this was his twentieth marathon!

他跟我說，這是他的第二十場馬拉松！

Ha, he said it never gets easier. You just get braver.

哈，他說跑馬拉松永遠不會變輕鬆，只是你會變得更勇敢。

Slowly, kilometre by kilometre, the pain felt smaller.

慢慢地，一公里一公里過去，痛好像變小了。

Then I saw it. The finish line!

然後我看到了。終點線！

The crowd was screaming, and I just started crying.

人群在尖叫，我一下子就哭了。

We crossed it together, hand in hand.

我們手牽著手，一起衝過了終點。

Four hours and fifty-one minutes. Not fast, but I finished!

四小時五十一分鐘。不快，但我跑完了！

Sadly, I never even got his name.

可惜，我連他的名字都沒問到。

But now, whenever I see someone struggling in a race,

但現在，每當我在比賽中看到有人撐不下去，

I stop, hold out my hand, and say, come on, run with me.

我就會停下來，伸出手說：來吧，跟我一起跑。