When I was little, I was really little. But my dream was big. I dreamed of being a basketball player. I tried out for the teams at school, but I was never given a chance.
As I got older, I did grow a little bigger, but not a lot bigger. On my 12th birthday, I decided to try a new sport: running. I told Grandpa. "I'm going to be an athlete."
"Dave." Grandpa began gently, "if you can't be big, you can do something big."
I ran 12 miles on my 12th birthday. On my 13th birthday, I did it again, but I added an extra mile. On my 14th birthday, I ran 14 miles. 15 on my 15th, 16 on my 16th, and you guessed it—17 miles on my 17th birthday.
All this running inspired（激发）another big dream. Someday, I'd run the Boston Marathon（波士顿马拉松赛）. I told Grandpa about my decision.
"But, Dave, you haven't trained for the marathon. Are you sure you're ready?" Grandpa asked. But he still promised to walk over and cheer me on.
I ran fast that day, But I fell at Mile 18 and was driven to the hospital. Later that night, I called Grandpa and told him I failed.
"No," he said calmly, "you didn't fail. You discovered something."
"I did?" I asked.
"Yes, you discovered that big dreams don't just come true. They take work. If you train and work hard, I promise to wait for you next year and cheer you on."
I trained every day, running miles and miles. Sadly, just two months into my training, Grandpa died. He wouldn't be waiting for my second Boston Marathon. I decided I'd run for him.
That day, I ran fast. "Keep going! You can do it!" His words filled my head as I forced my legs to make each painful step. As I crossed the finish line, I threw my arms in the air and cried, "Grandpa, we did it!"
