Marvin is a senior at Oakland Tech High and an immigrant from El Salvador. Centered, focused, and overweight, he could barely run one lap around the track on the first day of training. An excellent college-bound student, Marvin runs to prove to himself and his family that he can challenge himself physically again after he had major reconstructive surgery on his leg, caused by an accident, three and a half years ago. Midway through the season he can’t finish a test run in the allotted time due to a stressed foot injury, but he goes on to impress the coach with his commitment to the training and completion of an 18-mile run four weeks before the marathon.