last year, my boyfriend suggested that i should run the london marathon, and i laughed. he

　　laughed too, but he laughed too long and too loud. that made me think. i realized that he didnt believe that i could do it. that made me angry,and determined. now he knows that i can !

　　training wasnt easy, but i kept going. i didnt need special training but i did need to buy very good shoes. each day,i went a little further. by the end of three months, i was running five days a week. sometimes in the evenings i ran 10km;on sunday mornings, i sometimes ran about 30km.

　　on the day of the race in london, i lined up with about 30,000 other runners. for the first ]0km i felt very happy and my legs felt very comfortable. at the 30km mark, i felt ehausted, and wanted to stop, but i kept on going.

　　by the time i reached the 35km mark, i knew i was going to get to the end of the course. somehow that confidence made me feel lighter and faster. as i came round the last bend and saw the finishing line, i could see three runners ahead of me. i raced past all of them to finish the race in just under four hours. the winner had completed the race in 2 hours and 10 minutes, but i didnt care! i had run 42km and completed my first marathon !