Question
You recently ran the Hong Kong Marathon for the first time. Write a blog to be posted on the Hong Kong Marathon’s website to encourage other young people to take part in the next marathon.

Joining the Marathon is exhilarating

Can I finish the journey? Can I achieve my personal goals? These were what I asked myself when I took part in the Hong Kong Marathon for the very first time. In the marathon, while some people want to set a new world record, all I wanted was to finish the journey – It was the most challenging goal of my entire life! Indeed, almost all of my friends think that running a marathon is very exhausting and is not something for ordinary people like me. However, I did make some good memories running the marathon. Let me talk about my toilsome journey.

Before I wanted to join the marathon, I was actually overweight. When I ran for 5 minutes, I became very tired. I always had a passion for sports but I was unsure about myself since high school. Fortunately, I wanted to be fit and prove to myself that I can do anything, so I joined the marathon. A year ago, I started to do preparation for the marathon. I believe most people think that doing sports is very tiring. The same is true for me. I wanted to give up as well. But my teachers and my family told me not to give up. After 9 months, not only did I believe I was ready for the run, I became the fittest person I have ever met.

On the day of the marathon, I thought I had made all the preparations that I could do. But maybe I was too nervous. I didn’t do enough warm up before the start of the race. When I started to run, my calf muscle suddenly had a cramp. Promptly, I stopped in the middle of the race. I deeply believe that I shouldn’t give up. So, I tried to relax my muscle for a while and continued to run to the finish line. While some runners wanted to set new records, all I wanted is to make history in my life. I kept thinking about whether I had become exhausted. Still, I continued as best as I could.

The finish line was there. It was just a few hundred meters away. I told myself that if I could accomplish this goal, I could prove to myself that I can do whatever I believed in. Approaching the destination, I heard my family and teachers shout 'You are almost there! Hang in there!' When I reached the finish line, my mother exclaimed “Way to go! You did a big job!” and gave me a big hug. The reason why it was so sweet and surprising was that I had a lot of support from my friends and family.

After this toilsome but rewarding experience, I want to run marathons again because I want to support other people like me. Trust me, although it looks like a terrible adventure, running a marathon certainly brings you good memories. You will never regret it. You will have the most memorable experience there. If you are still considering it, I hope you don’t hesitate. Just do it !

4A Grace Kam