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In my town, the annual marathon is always held in hot weather. One year, it is was my job to follow the runners in an ambulance to give them medical attention if they needed it. The driver and I waited inside the ambulance. Outside. 100 runners listened for the loud crack of the starting gun.
(在我的城鎮裡,一年一度的馬拉松都是在大熱天舉行. 有一年, 我的工作是,如果跑者需要的話, 在救護車裡面跟隨他們. 司機和我在救護車裡面等待. 外面有100位選手聽著鳴槍的聲音. )
“Remember to drive solely,” I told the ambulance driver as we began moving forward, “because we are supposed to stay behind the last runner.”
(當我們開始前進時, 我告訴司機: 記得開車小心 因為我們應該跟在最後一位跑者後面 )
As the fastest runners started to disappear in the distance, I saw a person who was moving very slowly. Right away, I knew she was our ”last runner.” Both her feet were turned in, but her left knee was turned out. Her legs were so bent that it looked difficult for to walk. It would be more difficult for her to run a marathon in this weather.
(當最快的跑者開始再遠方消失時, 我看到一個人慢慢的移動. 我立刻就知道她是我們'最後的跑者.' 她的
雙腳都往裡面彎, 但是她的左膝蓋卻向外彎. 她的雙腿如此的扭曲, 以至於看起來難於行. 在這種天氣跑
馬拉松對她來說將更為困難.)
The driver and I watched in silence as she struggled forward, little by little. Without saying a word, we moved along slowly behind her. Every time she stopped, we would just stop and wait for to continue.
(司機和我在她掙扎前進時, 默默地看著. 不用說, 漸漸地 我們慢慢地移到她後面. 每一次她停下來, 我們就會停下來並等著繼續. )
Soon, she was the very last runner in sight. Tears ran down my face, and I was filled with amazement at this woman. I had a great feeling of respect for her, because she pushed forward with powerful determination through the last miles of the marathon.
(很快地, 在視線之內她是最慢的多的選手了. 淚水從我臉上流下, 我很驚奇的看著這女人. 我對她有著一份強烈的尊敬感, 因為她以強而有力的決心向前推進, 穿過馬拉松的最後幾哩路.)
A long time later, we finally reached the finish line. Most of the crowd had already done home, and there was trash all over the ground. But there, at the finish line, one proud man stood and waited. In his hand was one end of a paper ribbon; the other end was tied to a past. Very slowly, the woman crossed the finish line and broke the ribbon into two pieces like a winning runner.
(長時間過去, 我們終於到達終點線. 大部分的群眾都已經回家, 地上到處都是垃圾. 但 那裡, 在終點線那, 一個驕傲的人站在那等著. 他手上是一個紙緞帶的尾端; 另一端綁在一個過去. 這女人非常緩慢地穿過終點線並像個勝利的跑者般的把緞帶弄成兩段.)
I never knew this woman’s name, but since then she has become an important part of my life. For her, the marathon wasn’t about coming in first in the race. It was about finishing something that she started, no matter how difficult it was. Now, when I think things are too difficult or time-consuming, I think of that wonderful woman, the “last runner.” Right away, I realize how small my own problems really are.
(我從不知到這女人的姓名, 但自從那時她變成在我生命中一個重要的部分. 對她來說, 這場馬拉松不在於在賽跑中得第一, 而是在於不論多難, 完成她所開始的事件. 現在, 當我認為事情太過困難或耗時的時候,我就想到那位厲害的女性, 最後的跑者. 我立刻了解我問題是多麼的渺小啊. )
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