Persuasive Speech

Ever since that first day and every day since wherever I went – it went. Since I began, I’ve run in 25 states, 12 countries on three continents and logged over 50,000 miles.

I have never taken such immense proposition like this before on such a short notice that even though I occasionally ran 5K and 10K this is like a baptism with fire.

In the novel The Perfect Mile, three men each set out on their own journey of breaking four minutes running a. A quote that captures the theme of the novel is “Further, the four-minute mile had to be won alone. There could be no teammates to blame, no coach during halftime to inspire a comeback. One might hide behind the excuses of cold weather, an unkind wind, a slow track or jostling competition, but ultimately these obstacles had to be defied. Winning a foot race, particularly one waged against the clock, was ultimately a battle with oneself, over oneself.” (2) The three men, John Landy, Roger Bannister and Wes Santee put it to the test. They overcame mental and physical challenges, defeated criticism and were determined to break the barrier.

I am sure that everyone of you have heard about aliens and UFOs. Indeed, we all have heard about the famous case of aliens and UFOs in Roswell, New Mexico. Most people might be interested in the topic of aliens, but I know that the majority of you just think of it as rumours and the existence of them are impossible. Therefore, I am standing here in front all of you to make you change your perspective. I am strongly confident that I have found the evidence of their real existence to convince all of you.

43 degrees Fahrenheit and realizing I had forgotten my arm warmers and iPod, I recognized the 26.2 miles ahead of me would require some grit. Yet before the starting pistol fired and the recording of Frank Sinatra singing “New York, New York” played, I knew all the preparation done in the months and weeks prior had primed me for a successful finish. There is a mantra in distance running, “the hay is in the barn,” to affirm that all of the training and miles logged up until race day will lead you to success. And it is this mantra which has guided my preparation for a career as a physician assistant.

When I went on my first run, in the hot humid weather, I felt something that I hadn’t felt in a long time - happiness - and peace with everyone and everything around me. I began to look at myself in a new light. Over the course of the summer I managed to

This past weekend, 108 entrants set off on a hundred mile race—the fourth annual Pine Creek Challenge. The footrace follows the Pine Creek Trail, a flat, scenic route that still provides ample challenge for the runners. Race director, Steve Hanes, comments, “For me as a race director, it’s great to see people stretching their boundaries...it's great to see people work towards something they might not have even imagined a few years ago, and come out here and accomplish something that's really noteworthy.”

I have often heard people say that “running is, literally, the worst thing ever.” I disagree. Running on a steaming West Texas afternoon is the worst thing ever. The first mile isn’t too exhausting. You still have energy reserves, and your body temperature is under control, but you begin to feel your legs fatigue. You pump your arms to compensate. You power through. About halfway through the second mile, your throat becomes a fine-grit sandpaper, your calves claim “imminent collapse,” and you curse the man who conjured up long-distance running. Though your head is pounding and diaphragm cramping, you keep moving forward.

An eighty minute long run to be exact. I and my group of friends decided to go to high rock today thinking it would be a good idea. We were sorely mistaken as 20 minutes in our shoes, socks, and legs were covered in mud. The rain got even stronger and we started running even harder. As the weather gets more chaotic and wild our own motivation to push our body raises another level. It sometimes feels like we were battling an enemy and it made us feel like if we back down we would never be able to win against other teams.

I walk to the shed. I’m already panting from walking over there. Mrs. Gavello blows her whistle, that means to start the running. I’m now running the quarter lap, and it’s actually not that bad. But then the pain starts kicking in, I can feel it in my stomach, once I started the second lap. I’m sweating so much, I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like for the third lap. The mile feels like forever. I am about to finish my second lap, going on to that last lap. Something tragic then happens. I almost faint. I felt so weak. I just decide to keep running, the pain that I felt had never felt so good before! I don’t know how to explain it, the pain just feels good. I start sprinting, pouring every ounce of energy out of my body just to finish this

I was running in the mile. I hate the mile since it make my calfs feel like they are on fire, but my coach put me in it anyway.

For the next few miles, I thought about different things to distract myself. During miles four and five, I thought about the time I conquered my fear of heights by jumping off a high diving board. Throughout mile six, thoughts of my parents and my two sisters propelled me forward. At mile seven, the thought of four dogs greeting me at the door when I came home kept me going.

For example, using a leftover coffee can for loose nails or screws, or even washing and reusing a plastic zip-loc bag instead of throwing it in the garbage. Thrift shopping is a way of reusing someone else’s unwanted goods. As I spoke about in an earlier speech about thrifting, I included many locations and ways to thrift, also the benefits to the shopper and the donator. One place in particular was shopping at the local boys and girls club. I personally shop there, keeping my eyes open for a good deal. For example, the pair of jeans that I am wearing today was purchased from this store just a few months ago. I paid only $8.00 for this pair of Lucky Jeans and according to buckle.com, a retailer for lucky jeans the retail price is $99.00 that is a savings to me of $91.00.I am not the type to worry about name brands, but quality usually does cost more. If I can get a quality pair of jeans at a fraction on the price, I am glad to shop at the thrift store. I am thankful to the person that made the donation of the lucky jeans and they can benefit from that donation. According to the IRS webpage, IRS. Gov it explains that an individual can donate items like clothing, household furniture and furnishings, a car or boat, even taxidermy. The donations are appraised, by the donator, and recorded. At the time of filing taxes if the donation equals at least $500 for the year, the donator may take advantage of the

We all go on journeys during our lifetime, and in at least one of those journeys you will encounter obstacles. These obstacles make you feel like you should just quit and go back home. The thing that matters is how you handle all your ups and downs. Do you reach your breaking point and quit? Or do you continue on.

When considering the topic of health benefits and the risks of running long distances the well known story of the original marathoner Pheidippides is often brought up. The story is often told that Pheidippides, after running nearly twenty-six miles from Marathon to Athens to declare that the Athenians had won the Battle of Marathon, fell dead from exhaustion. This version of the first marathon often casts a negative light on the health benefits of running. However, this is not the full story. The real story involves Pheidippides traveling one hundred forty miles in an attempt to recruit the Spartans to aid the Athenians in their upcoming battle; then running again the return trip to report to the Athenians that aid would not be coming before the Persians arrived to battle. Finally, he ran the twenty-six miles to Athens to report the Athenian victory. That is when he finally collapsed from wounds and exhaustion. From this tragedy, we see that at some point distance running can be harmful or even fatal. The real question is, have marathons reached