2 Runners in an Ultra Marathon Race

In an ultra-marathon, there were only two runners left leading the race after they had covered 1250km over 25 days and they both still have about 1250km distance to finish the race.

Both of them were already exhausted, but continued to press forward until the end of 50th day. At this time, it started to drizzle. It was so foggy and clear vision was limited to a few kilometres. This significantly raised the degree of difficulty of the marathon.

The first runner at the front exerted his utmost effort to maintain his position at the forefront, he is also worried that the runner behind him would catch up. He is also worried about slipping as the path is slippery due to the rain so he was always looking intently at the path before him.

On the other hand, the second runner following behind was always focusing & visualising his goal ahead with his head and body postures raised and maintained upright. He only had the finishing point in his mind.

The second runner drew nearer and nearer to the first runner. The rain became heavier. By then both of them could hardly hold themselves up further. The runner in front finally collapsed due to exhaustion. The runner behind also seemed unable to hold out longer.

At this critical moment, he suddenly noticed and 'saw' an image of the Finishing Point, and it was not far ahead. He could vaguely discern the flag fluttering at the finishing point. He told himself to press on as the finishing point was just a short distance ahead.

This give him the impetus to dash forward with all his might to the finishing point. The second runner completed the race.

The first runner who was originally the fastest gave himself more stress by constantly worrying about losing and the slippery path and due to lack of focus, his stamina could not last him further, so he collapsed when he could win the race.

The second runner caught up with the first runner because he persevered towards his goal and vision throughout the entire 50 days race. In the end, he overcame all difficulties and obstacles successfully, dashed towards the finishing point and won the race.

The moral of the story is :
The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. 
Life battles don't always go to the fastest or the strongest, sooner or later those who win are those who think THEY CAN & those who HAVE A GOAL instilled deeply in them.