Chapter 24 — The Finish Line of Years Gone By

At four o'clock in the morning, the starting area of the Bình Minh International Marathon along the coast was brightly lit, hundreds of volunteers wearing blue T-shirts and uniforms were busy preparing the final stages - setting up the welcome gate, checking the GPS navigation system to track the athletes, and arranging water stations along the forty-two kilometers of winding coastal track.

Khue had been there since 3 a.m., wearing a walkie-talkie to contact the team leaders in charge of each area. Her eyes were dark because of lack of sleep, but her spirit was still highly alert thanks to the pressure of the most important moment in her career so far.

"Water station at kilometer fifteen reports the situation," she spoke into the walkie-talkie, her voice decisive.

"One hundred percent ready, ma'am." The response voice rang out clearly.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly according to plan, until an assistant ran over, his face filled with worry. "Miss Khue, there's a problem at the departure area! The main loudspeaker system is malfunctioning, there's no sound, there's only twenty minutes left until departure time!"

Khue immediately ran to the starting stage area and saw the technical team struggling with the audio cable system, everyone's faces were tense. Upon quick inspection, she discovered an unusual detail — the main cable leading from the console to the speaker system had been neatly severed, unlike an accidental technical problem.

"Who was in charge of this area last night?" She asked, her voice stern.

A security guard, somewhat confused, reported that last night's shift recorded a strange person wearing a technician's uniform entering and exiting the stage area at around two in the morning, but because he had a valid access card, no one suspected anything.

Khue's intuition told her that this was not an accidental incident, but a deliberate intervention, most likely related to those who did not want the tournament to go smoothly - but she did not have time to investigate right now, the top priority was to fix the problem before departure time.

Later, when everything had calmed down, the internal investigation determined that the strange person wearing a technician's uniform was a short-term contract employee, who had been hired by an unnamed figure in the company to "cause a small, non-dangerous disruption" to create an unfavorable media incident right before the opening hour - enough to raise doubts about Khue's organizational capacity without leaving any direct evidence implicating anyone on the Board of Directors. Although there was not enough evidence to officially blame Mr. Thanh, Khue clearly understood that in a company where power and interests were always intricately intertwined, not everyone wanted her to succeed, and she did not let that discourage her even in the most important moments.

"Miss Khue, the system has returned to stable operation." The technical team leader reported, breathing a sigh of relief. "Sorry for this problem."

"It's not your fault," Khue replied, her voice returning to calm after the crisis was resolved. "Just keep operating as usual, we don't have time to worry anymore about the past."

"Switch to backup speaker system immediately!" She ordered firmly. "Technical team, you have fifteen minutes to reconnect, otherwise we will use handheld speakers and wireless microphones to ensure the departure command is still clearly communicated." The technical team rushed to work at an urgent pace, and thanks to the backup system that Khue had requested to prepare in advance - a prudent decision that now proved its value - they were able to restore basic sound just five minutes before the scheduled departure time, although the quality was not as perfect as the main system.

***

In the athletes' area, Son was doing the final warm-up exercises with the group running the five-kilometer community category, clearly feeling the familiar nervousness that he hadn't experienced in many years since an injury forced him to stay away from official races.

"Are you nervous?" Nhật Tiến, who was warming up in the area reserved for professional athletes nearby, took the opportunity to run over to ask his coach.

"Thrilled," Son smiled and answered honestly. "But it's a different kind of thrill than the feeling before medal races in the past. This time, I'm just running for myself, there's no pressure to beat anyone."

"Then I'll probably enjoy it more," Nhật Tiến said, his eyes admiring.

"That's right." Son nodded. "And you, are you mentally okay? Remember what we discussed — keep a steady speed in the first half of the race, don't get caught up in the pace of more experienced foreign athletes from the beginning."

"I remember, teacher." Nhật Tiến nodded and took a deep breath to calm down.

Diễm Khanh approached and gave him a bottle of electrolyte water that had been mixed according to a ratio calculated specifically for each athlete. "Drink this all ten minutes before starting, just as practiced, don't try anything new on race day." She advised, her voice serious but warm. "And remember, if you feel unusual anywhere in your body, don't try to endure it, immediately notify the medical support vehicle."

"Yes, I miss Khanh," Nhật Tiến replied, accepting the bottle of water, his hands shaking slightly from both nervousness and excitement.

Huan, standing next to Son, made a final check of the radio communication device between the technical support vehicle and the stations along the route, ensuring all communication channels were clear so that he could closely monitor Nhật Tiến's developments throughout the forty-two kilometers ahead.

"Everything is ready," Huan said, patting Son on the shoulder. "It's time for you to take care of yourself, let me and the technical team take care of tracking Nhật Tiến."

On stage, after Mr. Vinh's brief speech, it was Khue's turn to step up, representing the organizing committee, to thank all the athletes, volunteers, and partners who had accompanied the tournament during many months of arduous preparation. Her voice rang out through the backup speaker system, not perfect in sound quality but full of power and sincere emotion, causing many people in the crowd to applaud enthusiastically.

"This tournament, to me, is more than just a business project," she said, her eyes unintentionally scanning the crowd, stopping for a moment where Son was standing. "It's also a journey of faith — the faith that, no matter how far life takes us, the things we truly cherish will always find their way back, if we are patient enough to wait and brave enough to grasp."

From afar, Son saw his parents standing in the spectator area near the starting line, Mr. Danh holding a cane, standing next to Mrs. Nhu, both wearing T-shirts with the tournament's logo that they probably bought as soon as they arrived. He waved goodbye, and Mr. Danh waved back, a bright smile clearly visible on his face that had many wrinkles from age and hard years.

The loudspeaker, although the sound was a bit more muffled than usual due to recent technical problems, was still clear enough to convey the official opening announcement of the tournament. Mr. Đường Khắc Vinh, as Chairman of Khang Vinh Group, stepped on stage to give a brief opening speech, emphasizing the significance of the tournament not only in terms of sports but also in the spirit of overcoming adversity that the story behind this project proves.

Khue stood in the area next to the starting line, still holding the walkie-talkie, eyes watching Son standing in the crowd of hundreds of people participating in the community category, and in her heart, a sense of pride mixed with nervousness rose more intensely than at any other moment during the long preparation process for this tournament.

The starting whistle sounded, decisively and clearly, through the morning mist still lingering on the sea surface, marking the official start of the Bình Minh International Marathon - and for Son, it was also the whistle that marked his return to running, after a long journey of giving up and finding himself.

Hundreds of pairs of feet rushed forward in unison, the thundering footsteps mixed with the sound of lapping ocean waves, and in the midst of that crowd, Son clearly felt a sense of freedom that he had not experienced in many years — not the feeling of an athlete fighting to win, but the pure feeling of someone running simply for the love of running, a love that was interrupted by injury but never truly extinguished, even during the years he was just running. You can stand on the sidelines and watch others.