The Kid Always Chosen Last

Pudgy and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, hockey, tennis, cricket — anything with a round ball, I was useless,” he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the object of jokes and ridicule in school gym classes in England’s rural Devon County.

It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to pedal along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon. Read more