Joanna never thought of herself as athletic. She loved art class and did well in her other subjects, but in P.E. she always counted the minutes until it was over. So what did she think she was doing, signing up for a 5K fun run? Ha! More like a no-fun run, she thought. Still, it was for a good cause—raising money for diabetes research—and she wasn't one to back out of something without trying. With the run about two months away, she knew it was time to start training. The first time she ran, she made it about half a mile, started panting, and had to slow to a walk. The next time, she ran two-thirds of a mile. At this rate, it'll take a year before I'm ready for this run, she thought, discouraged. Still, she kept lacing up her running shoes and hitting the pavement. She ran at least three times a week—sometimes more—and kept increasing her distance and improving her pace. To Joanna's surprise, she also started seeing herself differently. Maybe she wasn't the fastest runner in school or able to take on a full marathon like her aunt Amy, but she could now run a few miles without falling over. It was more than she could do three months ago. Maybe someday she'd run a longer race, but first she had to get through the 5K. Finally, the day of the run arrived. Joanna pinned her bib to her shirt and positioned herself at the starting line. the heck is the theme yall