Young Runner & His Great Victory.
In Keeping with the heart of what the Miracle Marathon is all about I have included the following story in 2 parts for you to enjoy.
Keep those comments coming everyone. And keep on running!
Far away, barely visible, a runner was heading in. I heard the race director say, "Here he is, last runner coming in." "That's great," the timer responded, "I'm freezing out here!" The lone figure appeared to be barely moving as he shuffled towards the finish line. At first I thought I was watching a very old man, but as the runner drew closer I could see he was young. He was really just a boy and appeared to be about 15 or 16 years old.
As I sipped my coffee, I found my eyes riveted on this young runner. Something about his gait, about the effort on his face, made my throat catch with emotion. I felt a strong urge to run out and help him by running alongside him to the finish. But I realized that doing so would probably only embarrass the young boy. I was able to swallow the lump in my throat and yell encouragement to him, "Way to go!"
He finally stumbled across the finish line, flashing me a broad grin as he finished. He seemed as proud as if he had just won the race. I smiled back and asked, "Do you want a hot chocolate? I'm getting another cup of coffee and I can bring it back."
That wasn't entirely true. I hadn't planned on another cup just yet, but I wanted to do something for this boy. He had taken only a few steps from the finish line and sat down hard, collapsing onto the icy ground with an exhausted sigh. He looked so cold. His young face was clearly showing strain from his effort. The boy looked up at me with an ashen face, smiled weakly and answered, "Sure. That would be great."
I made my way over to the refreshment table and retrieved two full cups, one coffee, one hot chocolate, and headed back. Some protective maternal instinct had kicked in. I found myself worrying about this boy. He looked so pale, not healthy, as one would expect. I had no idea what was wrong, although it was evident something was. I wondered where his parents were and how he had gotten here today. I also wondered why he had run this tough race.
I walked back to where he was sitting. As pale as he was, he still had a grin on his face. He had
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