Jessica Carlisle
Jessica is the sixteen year old protagonist of the novel. She is also the first-person narrator. Jessica is a track star and passionate about her sport and about competing. She is also an integral part of the track team. Jessica loses her leg in a road accident caused by an uninsured driver. In a split second, everything that she has come to know about herself, and like about herself, is turned upside down. Running gave her a purpose and defined her life. She is lost without it.
Jessica still has the determination and single mindedness that enabled her to become a star athlete in the first place. She also still has a very strong work ethic. When she learns to walk again, she realizes she can also run again with a specialized running prosthetic. This means that she can return to the sport she loves and that she is finally able to reignite her passion for running. She is also passionate about a number of other things now, too, one of which is redefining the way in which people see those with disabilities. She is anxious to give back in some way, to thank those who fundraised tirelessly for her running prosthetic, and so she runs the River Run ten mile race pushing her friend Rosa in a wheelchair; Roas has cerebral palsy and is unable to participate herself, but her friendship to Jessica during her ordeal and recovery has made such a difference in her life that Jessica wants to repay the favor.
Although Jessica is a nice, popular and well-adjusted young woman before her accident, she becomes a more multi-faceted person as the novel progresses. She is more likely to look outside herself at the problems facing others, and she has also become an outside the box thinker. She is a likable character whose life has been decimated by something totally outside her control, so we are therefore happy at the end of the book when it appears that she will still be able to achieve her dreams of becoming a runner after all.
Rosa Brazzi
On the face of it, a friendship between a star athlete and a girl who is unable to participate in any sports at all seems unlikely; however, Rosa's friendship is instrumental in helping Jessica to see a future for herself, and also instrumental in creating in Jessica a person of far more depth than before. Rosa is confined to a wheelchair because she has cerebral palsy, but the weakness of her body belies completely the strength of her mind and her razor sharp intellect. Rosa particularly excels at math, and she reaches out to Jessica in math class, asking her to sit with her, and helping her improve her math scores. The friendship becomes about far more than math though, and the two girls become very close. Rosa is a philosophical person and it is she who points out to Jessica that the finish line and the start line are the same thing, because where one adventure finishes, another one can start.
Fiona
Fiona is Jessica's best friend, and like Jessica, a talented runner and member of the track team. Fiona never wavers in her friendship even when Jessica is first working through her trauma and is perpetually angry. When Jessica returns to school, Fiona does not leave her side, and is a constant presence, protector and source of strength.
Coach Kyro
Coach Kyro is an example of a coach who not only coaches the team on the sporting arena, but away from it as well. Kyro spearheads the team's efforts to fundraise enough money to purchase a running prosthetic for Jessica, understanding completely how important running is to her, and also understanding how important her recovery is to the team.
Gavin Vance
Jessica has a huge crush on Gavin, and he is actually instrumental in the final fundraising push for her running prosthetic after writing an article for the newspaper about all of the fundraising efforts that have been going on, and of course about the girl at the heart of them.
