I am a long distance runner. When I was thirty-one, I was in a serious car accident. The doctor told me that they would try to get me to walk "normally" but I would never run again--terrible news for someone who views running as the oxygen  she breathes. The doctors were right. For the next nine and a half years, I was unable to run more than twenty-five feet. In 2006, I began self-training to take part in a 60-mile walk. Three months into preparing, I realized that walking 4-5 hours a day was too long. If only I could jog  part of it--that would cost me less time. I started jogging without my knees aching. Slowly, I increased the distance. The doctor were proved wrong--it only took nine and a half years to do so. While practicing, I suffered a loss--a dear friend suddenly died. His work had been to help women to accept themselves and reach their fullest potential . He believed that people should let nothing hold them back from achieving their goals. Soon after his death, a crazy thought entered my mind: what if I could run the LA Marathon? I knew that if I didn't train to my fullest, the doctor would win. So I trained seven days a week. And I succeeded in crossing the finish line of the LA Marathons all over the United States to the _ of my doctors. They never believed that I would achieve that. The aches and pains I experience while training and racing are nothing compared to the suffering people whom I respect must accept. Why did the author decide to join in the marathon?
Because she was so sorry for the loss of a friend. Because she was encouraged by her dead friend's words. Because she wanted to prove the doctors were wrong. Because she wanted to make more friends.