Some runners shared their     1     (story) about running on a global site. Li Yue is 16, born with asthma in Beijing. He joined his local athletics club because his doctor told him that in his particular case exercise could improve how his lungs work. As his    2    (fit) and his running improved, he started running in national competitions. This year he won silver in the under 18’s 10,000 metres!

Sarah is 36 in Montreal. She has discovered     3     app     4     (call) Running Power, which lists a runner’s performance against other runners in his social network. Now she no longer uses the app,     5     she has fallen in love with running, and still does it with her running friends.

David is a 52-year-old computer engineer in New York. As there’s always a new challenge just around the corner, it can be quite     6     (stress) at times, which in turn makes him feel anxious.     7     (help) deal with this, he goes running as often as he can. By the end of the run, all his stress     8     (disappear) and he’s ready to face the next day at work.

25-year-old Grace living in Manchester entered the Great Gorilla Run in London this year, which was a programme run by The Gorilla Organization to raise money to save the world’s last remaining gorillas from dying     9     . The funniest moment was     10    someone watching the race offered her a banana—a real treat for a running gorilla!

Long-distance running has a lot of benefits.     1     particular, it is a great sport for beginners, because you needn’t be a membership of a gym and do not need any special     2     (equip). It is a good way     3     (know) yourself and understand     4     you are capable of. Running can help you be     5     (health) and prevent diseases. It can increase the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain and can also make your heart     6     (strong). It can also strengthen your immune system and reduce the risk of     7     (get) health problems. Long running can cheer you     8     and make you relieve from aches or tension because of stress.

If you are a     9     (begin) for running, it is important to warm up and cool down properly before and after running to avoid     10     (hurt)yourself. After a long run, you should not stop immediately.

According to    1     new study by the WHO(World Health Organization), about 25 percent of adults worldwide do not get enough exercise. Because of this, about 1.4 billion people are     2     greater risk of developing     3     (dead) diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

When it comes to     4     (exercise) more, experts say that people needn't go to the gym every day. There are other ways to exercise. For example, we can take the stairs instead of taking an elevator. And standing on one leg for 30 seconds each day     5     (be) also good for our health.

The study also finds that women are less active than men because    6     (them) tend to spend more time at home taking care of     7     (child) and doing housework.

Countries with higher incomes show higher rates of inactivity. For example, people in Kuwait and the United States exercise less     8     people in Uganda and Nepal. This is partly because in     9     (develop)areas, desk jobs have taken the place of physical labor and cars     10     (replace) walking.

I made a visit to Australia a few weeks ago. I knew I couldn’t leave the surf capital of the world     1     experiencing it, so I booked a group surf lesson when I was in Byron Bay,     2     is a really popular place for professional surfers to go and catch some waves!

We started off with a warm­up by doing some stretches and going for a jog along the beach, then we all     3     (lie) down on our surfboards on the sand and practiced     4     (jump) up to the standing position. After a couple of practice, we were ready to go out into the sea and try it out on the water. I have to admit that surfing is much     5     (hard) than it looks — when you watch people from the beach, you feel they are surfing so     6     (easy)! I had a couple of failed     7     (attempt) to stand up but then one of the     8     (instruct) came to help me and held my board steady.

Finally I started to get the hang of it and by the end of the lesson I could manage     9     (stand) up on the board by myself. It was     10     an awesome feeling that I couldn’t wait to try it again!