My dad is an enthusiastic (狂热的) runner who     1     (great) influenced me when I was young. So I was very sporty before the age of 14．However, when my family moved, my new school didn’t pay much attention     2     sports and had no after-school activities like football or running. Over the next few years. I stopped exercising apart from during Physical Education lessons at school. I looked like I was     3     (health). However, I was not.

One day, I was late for a bus, tried to run after it and in under a minute was out of breath! This made me realize how unfit I was.     4     (help) myself get in shape again. I made a (n)     5     (decide) that I would take up a kind of sport.

A friend of     6     (I) suggested a swimming pool     7     is close to my house. Now, I’m a swimming lover! I find swimming in the pool very     8     (relax).I swim for an hour three times a week. I hope that I will soon start to feel     9     benefits of regular exercise, and     10     fitter than before.

This global site is a place for runners     1     (share) their stories about running. Here are four runners.

Li Yue was born with asthma and he never thought he     2     (be) a runner! He only joined his local athletics club because his doctor said that in his particular case exercise could improve how his lungs work. But before he knew it, he was taking part in local races. This year he won silver in the under 18’s 10,000 metres! Sarah didn’t do any exercise — not even any jogging not so long ago. Then she discovered an app called Running Power, which lists your     3     (perform) against other runners in your social network. Now she no     4     (long) uses the app, but she has fallen in love     5     running. David is a computer engineer. The work can be quite stressful at times, though,     6     in turn makes him feel anxious. To help deal with this, he goes running as often as he     7     (possible) can. Grace entered the Great Gorilla Run in London this year. This is a programme run by The Gorilla Organization to raise money to save the world’s last remaining gorillas from     8     (die) out. Each runner     9     (receive) a gorilla suit and off they go!     10     funniest moment was when someone watching the race offered her a banana — a real treat for a running gorilla!

6 . Running isn’t exactly fun. It demands determination and a lot of energy before you get to enjoy it.    1     To help you like running, here are some things that you can do.

Determine your “why”.     2     This is the eagerness and driving force as to why you     even tried it out. There are many possible reasons as to why you’d want to run. It could be as simple as wanting to have better resistance after climbing a flight of stairs. It could also be something much long-term like wanting to look better and become healthier in the long run. Knowing the reason drives you to keep running.

Don’t take it too seriously. There’s nothing wrong with taking things lightly when it comes to running.    3     That can make you less eager to try out running and be uncomfortable   whenever you miss a running day.

Make a playlist. The proper music is very powerful in helping you through a running practice. Create a playlist that you can run to. Your running playlist will become a marker for your running.    4    You’ll also know that you’re almost done with your run when you’re listening to the ninth song on the list. It’s better to track your progress through music than through numbers, seconds, and miles.