Boston+Marathon

**BANG!** The loud starting ​gun shot the blank that was loaded, signaling the start of the 2010 Boston Marathon. Zoe was sprinting down the long, long road, along with the other runners. She sped past rows upon rows of houses, some big, some small. She observed the kids cheering to her, and smiled, remembering her childhood, and wanting to run in the 26.2 mile long Boston Marathon. As she finally finished the seventeenth mile, the runners reached a much needed water stop. Eagerly, she grabbed a heaping cup of water and drank the ice cold liquid. The cold water felt refreshing in her mouth after running such a long distance. Far off, she saw a giant hill getting closer and closer.

She began losing speed, slowing down, as she neared the treacherous hill. She could remember watching the fast runners in the Boston Marathon when she was little, and thinking that running couldn't be that hard. She smiled at the thought of her own young, foolish self. Her feet hit the warm, rough pavement hard. The small hill was getting closer and closer. //Think//. She said to herself. //How did I practice running? Did I ever slow down? Did I ever give up?// She knew the answer to those questions as, "//No, I didn't slow down"//. And she wasn't going to now. She had to keep going, she HAD to.

//"Oh no, here comes Heartbreak Hill,"// her mind automatically warned. She was charging up the hill, but her legs felt like 200 pound dead weights. She felt like a small minnow trying to scale Niagara Falls. //Now for the fun part,// she thought sarcastically. Going down the massive hill was definitely easier. But, as easy as it is compared to going up, it was definitely hard. Zoe ran down the hill, feeling like she was losing control, like she could slip and fall any second. It was wet from last night's pouring rain, which made it very slippery and much harder. Her mind raced with her body as she sped down the giant hill, but her place progressed from 50th to 30th. Soon, she started to feel a larger control of gravity. Zoe could tell she had almost reached the bottom of Heartbreak Hill. It took her a few minutes before she realized something. She had made it past the most intimidating part of the Boston Marathon, Heartbreak Hill! She had worked hard and she zoomed past 20th. And going onto 15th. And going past 10th. Up to the leaders, she thought I might win! And she past 5th!!!!!!!!

Her legs carried her farther and farther along the path that seemed to get longer and longer. Zoe was thrilled, running strong, her feet gliding along the long road, then hitting softly as if she was a feather. She felt like she was flying. The wind ran through her hair and went into her eyes. Nothing could stop Zoe. She grabbed her hair, tied it into a ponytail, and tugged it for luck. She was catching up to her friends and she had a hunch. A hunch that she could be the one to win this. She knew it was her time to shine. She sprinted even harder now, darting across the road.

Zoe ran by her friends on the 24th mile, instead of running with any of the other 25,000 people. She was as excited to see them as they were excited to see her. She then realized that she had passed the leader and now everyone was trailing behind her! She was actually leading the race, and they couldn't believe it. Zoe was on top of the world! She couldn't believe she was in front of all of the past champions and the people expecting to win. But she knew she couldn't think about that, she had to keep focus and not get caught up in thinking about winning, or she might get distracted and not. She kept a steady pace and began to pull farther and farther in front of the rest of the athletes. She was now on mile 25. So close to the finish, but anything could happen. She knew how exciting-- no, spectacular-- it would be if she won the Boston Marathon. Zoe thought of what she would spend the money on if she won, a nice blue, shiny convertible.

As sweat slowly dripped down her maroon red face, she started to drift off into some of her memories. Suddenly, she was in her backyard on a bright, hot, sunny spring day. Her little brother was there, running in circles, yelling and laughing. The grass was greener than anything she had seen before and moist with dew from the morning. She started to giggle at the sight of her brother but as soon as she did, she woke up from the memory and started running even faster. The remembrance of the memory gave her a burst of exuberance she needed. The cheers and enthusiasm from the crowd gave her amazing confidence. She could practically hear her friends cheering her on, yelling, "YOU CAN WIN THIS ZOE!" Her heart thudded loudly in her chest and sweat trickled down her face in small cool beads, but she was determined to go on and win. She knew she could do it!

Zoe was so excited she started to pick up her pace. After quickly passing each mile marker she ran faster and faster. The crowd was going nuts. She heard a familiar voice yelling her name. It was her parents eagerly waiting to see her. Zoe stopped; but only for about a minute, when she realized that she was so //close!// She had never felt so fast in her life. She felt like she was gliding on air!In the distance, she could see the finish line. Heart pumping, she thought to herself, "//I can do this!// " With every step that she took, the finish line came closer and her body became more and more anxious to finish the long and hard race. Her eyes locked on the target, but then, she thought that she heard footsteps coming up behind her. Turning her head, she saw that one of the fastest runners was coming up behind her. She forced her legs to go ten times faster. And then even faster. Before she knew it she was sprinting with all her might. Finally, the finish line was under her feet and the red, crinkly streamer tore in front of her. Zoe could hear the large crowd cheering like crazy. //"Wait, did I just win the Boston Marathon? Wow, this is so amazing! I have never been so proud of myself before! This feels like a dream!"// After years of training she finally won the world famous Boston Marathon! Before being swept away by the media, Zoe blinked her cocoa brown eyes at the sun, silently thinking, //"Thank you".// And call her crazy, but she swore the sun shined brighter than she'd ever seen.

Zoe's life had changed forever. Running in the Boston Marathon was definitely worth all the training and hard work. The 26.2 miles will forever be in her great memories, except for Heartbreak Hill. Each and every mile was a different experience, with her heart racing more and more when she ran farther and farther. The adrenaline in her body was still pumping. She would try again next year! Maybe the defending champ would even win again!!!!!!!!!!!!! she couldn't wait to start training for the next Boston Marathon!