A dream comes true in New York as I go the full distance for the first time

When I crossed the finish line in Central Park, New York, on Nov 3 after running for almost four-and-a-half hours, it was the moment my dream came true.

It all started in February when my credit card was charged about $300 at midnight. But this was no fraud－I had been accepted for the 49th New York City Marathon.

However, a lot of effort is required to overcome numerous obstacles along the way and finally make it across the line.

For me, the biggest, or probably the only, problem was that I had no experience of running a marathon. Running all 42.195 kilometers of the course seemed a daunting task.

I began running regularly in the summer of 2017, covering short distances at a slow pace. My first official half-marathon came almost a year later, but the training I did was far from sufficient for a full marathon.

With many suggestions and tips from my fellow runners, I developed a training plan to improve my ability and enhance my overall performance.

Three weeks before the race, I ran 34 km and did not feel that tired. Two weeks before the event, I ran a personal-best half-marathon time of 1 hr, 53 min, 43 sec in the rain in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province.

Before boarding the flight from Beijing to New York, I told myself: "I'm well prepared. I will finish the race."

Before landing in the city where I used to study and live, I set myself another goal: completing the race in about 4 hr 30 min－10 minutes faster than the time I had previously set for myself.

The marathon route takes in all five New York boroughs－starting from Staten Island, then on to Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and The Bronx, before returning to Manhattan to finish in Central Park.

There are five bridges along the course, which for a marathon novice such as myself, are real "killers".

At 10:45 am, I walked from the runners' village to the starting area, along with thousands of participants from around the world.

At 11 am, the starting gun sounded and the runners set off amid loud music and spectators' cheers.

I ran at a pace designed to meet my anticipated finishing time, while never forgetting to enjoy the scenery, high-five the spectators, chat with a friend taking part and even pose when he took photos.

My legs did not fail me. On the contrary, they were powerful and kept pushing me on at the bridges and on the uphill sections of the course.

Wearing a national flag sticker on my sun visor, I was recognized by some Chinese volunteers and received quite a few shouts of jiayou ("go on"). This was a bonus and gave me extra energy as I approached Central Park.

As I crossed the line, the clock showed 4:27:03. My dream had come true.

I still feel excited about my achievement. However, it was not just about the race itself, but also the effort I made to improve myself, how determined I was to reach my goal, and the help and support I received from my parents, friends and colleagues.

Now, I am even more excited, as I already have some new dreams.