The final kilometre

Source A: an original contemporary non-fiction-style account.

The sign said one kilometre remained. This was a distance I normally walked without considering it, perhaps between a bus stop and a shop. After nine kilometres of the charity run, it had expanded into a substantial geographical problem. My legs continued, but with the air of employees who had formally raised a complaint. A runner in a banana costume passed me with insulting freshness.

Along the barrier, spectators offered encouragement in generous quantities. I believed all of it for approximately two seconds at a time. The finish arch was visible ahead, then hidden by a bend, a piece of architecture apparently capable of retreat. I concentrated on the next lamp-post. Then the next. My breathing sounded louder than the music, a rough metronome setting a pace that pride was no longer allowed to revise.

At the line, someone handed me a medal and asked me to keep moving. The instruction seemed unreasonable until I noticed the runners arriving behind me. I walked on, laughing with relief. The medal was light, the water wonderfully ordinary. I had not discovered unlimited reserves of strength. I had discovered a finite amount, used nearly all of it and reached the end.

Refer to the whole of Source A. Analyse how the writer uses language to present the runner’s fatigue and determination humorously. Explain the effects of specific words, phrases and language choices, using evidence from the passage.