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VOICE ONE:
This is Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember withExplorations in VOA Special English. Today, we report about marathonraces in the United States. And one marathon runner tells about hisexperience.
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VOICE ONE:
Forty-two kilometers is a long way to run without stopping. Butas many as thirty-five thousand competitors with a lot of energywill try to do that on Sunday, November seventh. They will take partin the thirty-fifth New York City Marathon. This race is so largethat competitors must take part in a game of chance to win the rightto enter.
Two million people will watch the competitors as they run throughthe streets of America’s most famous city. The athletes will runacross five bridges and through the five boroughs, or areas, of NewYork City. These are Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx andManhattan. The race ends in the city’s famous Central Park.
Like other marathons, the New York City Marathon is aninternational race. World champions and Olympic athletes willcompete. So will top athletes from twenty countries. The athleteswill compete for prize money worth more than five hundred thirtythousand dollars.
VOICE TWO:
Many other cities in the United States hold marathons. Forexample, the United States Marine Corps Marathon took place lastSunday in Washington, D. C. and the state of Virginia.
The city of Chicago, Illinois also held its yearly marathon lastmonth. The running area in Chicago is almost completely flat. Thishas permitted runners to set some of the world’s fastest timesthere. The Chicago race offered some of the largest prizes amongAmerican marathons. It gave six hundred fifty thousand dollars inprize money.
VOICE ONE:
In April, other runners will take part in the Boston Marathon inMassachusetts. That race is the oldest marathon in the world heldeach year. The first Boston Marathon was held in eighteenninety-seven.
Some people run in the Boston Marathon just for fun. These peoplehave not officially joined the race. They just start running withthe crowds. They are called “bandits.” Many of them finish the racehours after the serious runners. But these unofficial racers arejust as happy. They sometimes kiss the ground after crossing thefinish line.
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VOICE TWO:
The word “marathon” comes from an area along the coast of Greece.An important battle took place in Marathon about two thousand fivehundred years ago. An army from Persia had invaded Greece. Greece’sarmy defeated the invading army at Marathon. An Athenian generalsent a Greek runner to Athens to tell the news of the victory.Marathon was about forty kilometers from Athens. The man ran toAthens at top speed. He announced his message. Then he fell to theground, dead.A men’s marathon of about forty kilometers was includedin the first modern Olympic games in eighteen ninety-six. Thedistance of the marathon was increased to forty-two and two-tenthskilometers at the nineteen-oh-eight Olympics in London. The marathoncontinues to be a popular Olympic sport.
VOICE ONE:
What is it like to run a marathon? Recently, one of our SpecialEnglish writers, Mario Ritter, ran in a marathon race. He thought itwould be fun to tell about it. Most people would never think ofrunning forty-two kilometers for fun. But, the pleasure in running amarathon is not in doing it – but in knowing that you did.
Mario runs almost every day to keep healthy. He is not acompetitive runner. He ran a marathon before-ten years ago. Thisyear, he decided to run another in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.
Training is extremely important. Starting in May, Mario begantraining by running more often. He also increased the length of hisruns to eight, twelve and even twenty kilometers. Soon, he ran fivedays a week. Running regularly is necessary to build the neededstrength.
In the months before the race, Mario ran a total of more thaneight hundred kilometers in training. That really is not very much.Competitive runners train much more. But for someone just trying toprepare, that seems enough.
VOICE TWO:
The day before the race, Mario travels to Baltimore with hiswife, Yaxue, and three-year-old daughter, Atalanta. They stay at ahotel near the start of the race. He gets his identification numberand a computer chip in a band that he wears around his ankle. Thechip is activated at the start of the race and keeps time.
Race day is cold and windy. Runners gather at the starting line.They are stretching their arms and legs or jumping up and downtrying to stay warm. Many are talking with friends and otherrunners. The line of people stretches hundreds of meters behind thestart.
The very best runners are in the front. They are competing forprize money. The winner will receive fifteen thousand dollars. Thereis a total of one hundred thousand dollars in prize money. But morethan two thousand people will run only for fun.
The mayor of Baltimore is talking. The sound of his voice flowsin the air above the runners. But no one is listening to him. It isalmost time to start the race.
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VOICE ONE:
It is eight o’clock in the morning, October fifteenth. A hornsounds. The runners are off. The big race starts slowly. The toprunners quickly move out. But, a crowd of hundreds waits behindthem. This is a dangerous part of the race. It is easy for a runnerto trip and fall in a storm of elbows and shoes.
The runners gain speed. With more space, Mario worries less aboutbeing tripped. He can run his own race. The first few kilometers areup hill. This does not seem too bad. Kilometer numberthree…four…ten…fifteen. The first half of the race feels “easy.”
VOICE TWO:
A marathon is a civic event. The city police block traffic on themain roads. Some runners thank the officers as they run by. Everyfew kilometers, volunteers offer water to the runners. Hundreds ofpeople in the community give their time and effort. Lots of peoplecheer.
Half way. Mario has not run as fast as he wanted. But, he issaving energy for the second half of the race. The hard part startshere.
About half way into a marathon, the human body starts to showsigns of extreme tiredness. Pain starts to build in the legs, kneesand feet. The mind plays tricks too. While half the race is over,the other half is just beginning.
VOICE ONE:
At the thirty-kilometer mark, Mario really feels horrible. Hislegs just do not want to work. To make matters worse, the path ofthe race goes up several big hills. Every step hurts.
This is “the wall” — the point were the body wants to stop andrest. Here, only the mind can tell the body to move forward.Competitive runners condition their bodies to go beyond this pointregularly. Runners like Mario only become this physically tired afew times in their lives.
Mario centers his thoughts on putting one foot in front of theother–continuing the motion of running. He remembers to use hisarms and shoulders to lengthen his stride.
VOICE TWO:
As he reaches the top of the last big hill, Mario can sense thatthe finish line is only a few kilometers away. He tries to covermore ground with each step. Other runners speed up too.
But as the long line of runners heads down hill, the path becomescrowded. The street is uneven and tricky.
If someone trips at this point, the runner will not be able toavoid falling. A young woman ahead mis-steps and cannot reactquickly enough. She falls directly on her face and is bleeding.People rush to help her.The runners can only look on. They ride awave of motion that they are powerless to halt.
VOICE ONE:
The finish line represents a goal that Mario has thought aboutfor almost four hours. When he sees it, he speeds up. He is able topass a number of people. Suddenly, a thin, young woman sprintsacross the finish line just ahead of him. He did not see her coming.
Mario finishes seven hundred thirty-first in the BaltimoreMarathon. It has been one hour and forty minutes since John Itati ofKenya won the race. Two thirds of the marathoners have yet tofinish.
VOICE TWO:
A crowd of runners, volunteers and family members gathers at theend of the race. People are laughing and calling out. The atmospherefeels like a holiday.
Mario’s wife and daughter find him. They are happy, caught up inthe excitement. “You did it!” his wife, Yaxue, exclaims.
Mario realizes that he cannot bend down to untie his shoes. In afew hours he will feel satisfied with his effort. But at thismoment, he wonders why anyone would run a marathon for fun.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written and produced by Mario Ritter. This isFaith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for Explorationsin VOA Special English.