摘要： What was the turning point of her whole life? A. That she had the chance go to St. Paul's College sponsored by the United Negro College Fund B. That Her father dragged an old chicken coop up to the smokehouse and improvised a makeshift homestead C. That the family opened its first Burger King in Los Angeles in 1976. D. That she had to do several part-time jobs in St. Paul's College.
Four short years ago, I felt lucky after escaping one of those terrible 2-mile gym fitness runs．I hated 1 ; it was just something that 2 came easily to me．At that time, if you had．told me that I would one day run a marathon, I'd have told you in all honesty that I had a better 3 of winning the lottery(彩票)．
The turning 4 came when I met Mrs．Gray．She was fifty years old, going through chemotherapy(化疗)for her cancer, and still 5 to run 30 miles a week．I 6 that if Mrs．Gray could run 6 miles at a time, I could run at least one or two．In February, in a cold weather, I started to walk a 2-mile 7 around my neighborhood．Two months later, I 8 the whole route, running, for the first time．I felt exhausted, 9 I felt happy．
Over the next several years, I continued to push each run for a few 10 minutes, slowly building my endurance(耐力)．I didn't need to 11 against other runners, for my most important competitor was myself．
After continuing to 12 myself, I knew it was time to step it up．I 13 I would train for the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon．
Race day 14 came, and I was filled with excitement and wbrry．It was final time to see what I was made of．The 15 ended up incredibly．I did 16 through the last few miles, but after my journey, there was no doubt in my mind that I'd finish．As I 17 the finish line, I experienced the strongest sense of 18 and happiness I ever had in my life．I was now a marathoner．
As John Bingham once said, "The 19 isn't that I finished．The miracle(奇迹)is that I had the 20 to start．"