Mitch Albom

Well, by the time they get around the curve, everyone is, you know, come on, like this, cheering, cheering.

And the man puts...

And it's an older man, and he puts the younger man, the runner, on his feet.

So his heels are on his feet, and he's sort of walking him that way.

And they get to the finish line.

Of course, there's this big applause.

He finishes, you know, like a minute and a half after everybody else did.

So I go racing downstairs, and we find the man who came out of the stands.

And I run up to him, and I say, who are you?

And he says, I'm his father.

And I said, well, why did you do what you did?

He said, well, I couldn't bear to see him...

You know, hurt.

And I just felt I know I'm not supposed to be out there, but I just ran out there.

And I knew that if he didn't cross the finish line, he wouldn't get recorded in the books as having actually participated in the Olympics.

So it was so important for him to cross the finish line.

And I said, well, why did you just urge him or hold him?

He said, well, I taught him how to run.

When he was a little boy, I'm getting choked up telling this story.

When he was a little boy, I put his feet on my feet and I taught him how to run.