What started out as one small dream to be the best in the world at something snowballed into a massive undertaking. It came to involve Dan’s friends, his family, his school and the local community, and thanks to the Internet, randomly interested people around the globe.
I think this is one of the strongest parts of the essay because it shows that Dan gained more from the experience than just a world record. Even though he did not officially break the record, the writer shows how his goal brought people together and became something much bigger than he originally expected.