Brenda is a star track star and her coach comes over to the Jenkins' for a cup of coffee and brings a friend of his-- Willie Amakye from Ghana. Willie needs to raise money to stay in America and train for the Olympics so Mary suggests a neighborhood marathon. He even gets his friend Florence Griffith Joyner to participate.

Mary solicits all of the sponsors, but when Brenda loses a track race, she loses her confidence also. She decides not to run and Flo Jo tries to convince her that you can't give up because of one loss.

When the snow causes all runners to quit, Willie continues runninig because he says he has to raise the money. When Brenda sees his determination, she decides to run alongside him.