My dad and I had been looking forward to the Stale cross-country race of my senior year of high school, which would be the climax (顶点) of my existence.

I was the fastest runner on my team, and I was supposed to make it into the top fifteen. We had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was wild with joy by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice, which rang above the crowd-telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals of Arizona. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms of the orange trees, and the terrible smell of the dairy farm, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness. It was a journey that was just ours. A dream passed on from one generation to the next.

Then the big day came. It was hotter than normal - too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. I gazed out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces from church and school flickered across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, worry and excitement etched across his face. With the sound of a gunshot, the race began.

For the first two and half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with hard practices and a strict diet. The scorching sun beat upon my back, blinding me with its brilliance. Nothing was going to stop me, though.

However, without warning, my strength was running out.

I whispered, “I’m so sorry I disappointed you, Dad.”

4 . I’ve learned a lot in my many years in the gym, and beginner-me would be shocked by the things present-me does during the workouts.     1    . And I’ve broken pretty much every other rule besides.

Rest days are a convenient tool for making sure you’re not overworking yourself, but that’s all. Organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine recommend leaving 48 hours between intense strength-training periods for a given muscle.     2    , it’s meant to be a general recommendation for beginners and for people who are exercising just to stay healthy. Once you’re talking about athletes or enthusiasts, they acknowledge that training most days of the week is fine, if your program manages tiredness effectively.

The “10% rule” is a not-terrible guideline for figuring out how quickly to improve your training.     3    . As running coach Jason Fitzgerald told us, “While the saying is to only increase weekly mileage (英里数) by 10%, this may be either too conservative or even too aggressive depending on where you start from.” If you’re a beginner and your mileage is overall very low; if we took the rule seriously, you wouldn’t be able to increase from zero to any other number.

    4    , but none of them are necessary. Creatine (肌酸) is one of the best-known muscle-building supplements (补充剂). It’s understood to be effective, but here’s the thing: That it does something for most people doesn’t mean it does very much. Likewise, protein powder is a helpful way to get more protein in your diet, but you don’t need to use a supplement.     5    .

5 . Three years ago, Jasminka Jost was looking for a place for her young son, Vigo, to be active. She had tried playing soccer, but Vigo, who has autism (孤独症), had trouble focusing on the game. Jost needed a safe space for Vigo with coaches who specialized in meeting his needs. That’s when friends referred Jost and her family to the River City Inclusive Cym (RCIG), which offers workout classes for children, teens and adults with disabilities.

The gym has been in operation since 2016, renting space in a traditional gymnastics gym before moving to its current location on Patterson Avenue in April 2022. There’re six hour — long classes per day from Monday through Saturday, each with a maximum of seven attendees and each featuring one coach per participant.

“Our classes consist of an obstacle course,” says Mike McGrath, the founder of RCIG. “There’re four different sections of the gym, and we spend 15 minutes in each section. There’re monkey bars, swings, ropes for climbing and swinging, slides ropes for climbing and swinging, slides, and more. That can sound frightening, but we start from where they’re comfortable. If they just need to touch the rope at first, that’s OK, but our goal is to gradually build their skill level and participation.”

Vigo, now 6 years old, looks forward to classes every week. There’re classes for older kids and young adults, too. Christine Schwab has been bringing her niece. 20-year-old Brennan, for two years and says that the classes have improved her social and motor skills. “The coaches at RCIG were great at getting her to take the extra step — and to believe that she could,” Schwab says. “As a loved one, it’s amazing to see.”

Jost adds the gym is a good place to meet other people facing similar challenges. “Even beyond the classes, there’s a deep sense of community and belonging.” she says. “Vigo has made a lot of little friends, and it’s an opportunity to meet other parents. It’s a place we can all go and just be ourselves.”

7 . Chris Turnbull, 39, finished the touching 3,856 km run on September 16, in the Sydney suburb of Manly, becoming the quickest runner from Perth to Sydney. He _________ the current record holder Achim Heukemes, who completed the distance in 43 days in 2005. To _________ the new world record, he was wholeheartedly _________ to preparing himself.

Mr Turnbull had a(n) _________ for running at a young age. He ran his first half marathon at 9 and since then he had been _________ at plenty of ultra marathons at different times in his life.

Mr Turnbull had run every single day from his beachside home in the Sydney suburb of Clontarf to his _________ on work days. The daily cross country run _________ him to see the sights of Australia, meet amazing people and most importantly, _________ himself physically and mentally.

With his 40th birthday _________ next year, to see what was his physical and mental limit, he wanted to __________ himself to the new record.

To make it in record time, Mr Turnbull was running between 100 km and 105 km daily.He had to __________ huge trucks rushing past him on major highways, blisters(水泡), aching muscles, and being __________ of sleeping well due to the pain his body was feeling

Mr Turnbull’s wife, along with their two kids, had been tracking his __________   on a map from their home as he made his way across the continent. They were __________ waiting there at the finish line in Manly for Mr Turnbull’s falling into their arms for a loving post- run __________.

Chasing a Dream

I will never forget that November day. It was hotter than normal — too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. This was the day we had waited so long for. I looked out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces flashed across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, with worry and excitement on his face. Adrenaline (肾上腺素) pumped through my body, and the race began.

For the first two and a half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with strictly controlled practices and a strict diet. My friends hadn’t seen me in weeks, but they understood the sacrifice required to make my dream a reality.

My dad and I had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was excited by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice — telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms (花簇) of the orange trees, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness.

But without warning, when I was 200 yards away from the finish line, my legs stopped working. My lungs fought to take in enough air, and my feet transformed into cement (水泥) bricks. I still don’t know what happened in those last few moments. Nothing I could do would make them hold my weight. They were as weak as jelly.

Even though I knew my dreams of victory were destroyed, I had to finish the race.

“I’m so sorry I disappointed you,” I whispered to Dad.