Marathoners battle pain to reach finish line

Every one of the 42.195 km of an Olympic marathon are grueling, and even though the races often bring hours of pain and suffering, the rewards overshadow all the struggles - usually.

"I'm suffering with the long distance, but I'm still happy to do the challenging sport," said China's veteran marathoner Zhou Chunxiu, who won a bronze medal at the Beijing Games yesterday. "That moment on the podium makes it all worthwhile for long-distance runners."

Zhou, one of China's top Olympic medal hopefuls, suffered through a spate of injuries in her lead-up to the Beijing Games, derailing her meticulous training program for months.