Describe a time when you felt proud of yourself

I'd like to talk about the time I completed my first half-marathon, two years ago. I had never been a runner. In fact, at school I was always the person who finished last in the running tests, so deciding to run twenty-one kilometres was a big step for me.

It began when a friend of mine suggested that we sign up for a charity race, and I said yes before I could think better of it. We had five months to prepare. At first, I could barely run for ten minutes without stopping, and my legs ached all the time. But I followed a training plan, running three times a week and gradually increasing the distance. There were days when it was cold and dark, and I really didn't want to go out, but I forced myself, because I'd told everyone about the race and didn't want to give up.

On the day of the race, I was extremely nervous. The first ten kilometres were fine, but around kilometre sixteen, I hit a wall and almost stopped. Then I saw my family at the roadside, shouting my name and holding a poster, and I found enough energy to keep going. I crossed the finish line in just over two hours, and I almost cried.

I felt proud because I'd proved to myself that I was capable of more than I had thought. The time itself mattered less to me than the discipline it took and the fact that I didn't give up. That feeling of accomplishment has stayed with me, and it gives me confidence whenever I face another challenge.