I Almost Quit My First Marathon

Six months ago, I ran my very first marathon.

六个月前，我跑了人生中第一场马拉松。

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

四十二公里……而我从来没跑过三十公里以上。

At the start line, my legs were already shaking.

在起跑线上，我的腿就已经在发抖了。

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

接着发令枪一响，我们几千人一起冲了出去！

Honestly, the first half felt amazing.

说实话，前半程感觉棒极了。

People were cheering, kids were giving out sweets,

大家在欢呼，小孩子在发糖，

and I thought, wow, this is easy!

我心想，哇，这也太简单了吧！

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

然后，到了第三十二公里，我撞墙了。

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

哎，很难解释。我的腿就是动不了了。

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

每一步都疼。脑子里一直叫我停下来。

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

于是我走到路边，坐了下来。

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

唉……就到这儿吧，我想。我不跑了。

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

突然，一位年长的跑者停在了我面前！

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

他伸出手说：来吧，跟我一起跑。

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

就跑到下一根路灯那儿。就这样。

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

我也不知道为什么，但是……我握住了他的手。

So we ran from one lamp post to the next.

就这样，我们从一根路灯跑到下一根。

He told me this was his twentieth marathon!

他告诉我，这是他的第二十场马拉松！

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

哈，他说跑马拉松从来不会变轻松，只是你会变得更勇敢。

Slowly, kilometre by kilometre, the pain felt smaller.

慢慢地，一公里一公里过去，疼痛好像变小了。

Then I saw it. The finish line!

然后我看到了。终点线！

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.

我们手拉着手，一起冲过了终点。

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

四小时五十一分钟。不快，但我跑完了！

Sadly, I never even got his name.

可惜，我连他的名字都没问到。

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

但现在，每当我在比赛中看到有人跑不动了，

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

我就会停下来，伸出手说：来吧，跟我一起跑。