Marathon of a Day

I did it!!! Wow, what a day. Thank you Jesus. I have been waiting for this for a long time. On Sunday 11-11-07, I ran in the Harrisburg Marathon. I had been training for this since July and was beginning to get worn out from it all. I can now say I have run a marathon and did pretty well too. My time was 3 hours and 45 minutes. My goal was to run under 4 hours, however the competitiveness would not let myself slow down any further. My pace was 8 minutes and 38 seconds per mile. I ended up 17th out of 34 in my age group and 232nd out of 734 over all.

In July, Todd Cirelli, my the supervisor at my old job asked if I would run with him. I agreed, not realizing how much this would hurt. We never ran together but challenged each other every morning by how far we ran the day before. It was fun. I was having some knee and hip problems in September or October and went to the chiropractor for some help/advice. After getting new shoes and more prayer I successfully finished the training and the marathon.

Sunday morning Jenny, my girlfriend, drove me to City Island where I checked in and prepared. I was nervous because I wasn't sure how I would do. Jenny helped me get ready and said a few prayers for me then went to watch. I nearly tripped over a woman at the starting line who dropped her glove but avoided disaster smoothly. It was interesting to talk with some people as I ran. I met a Christian guy at mile four and I shared with him about how races like this force me to draw on Christ's strength. He agreed and I thought about that a lot during the run.

Jenny surprised me at numerous places along the course. I can't explain how much she blessed me. She and my sister, her husband, and a friend of mine ran with me for a few blocks at mile 21. At mile 22 I "hit the wall". My legs cramped up so much I thought I was going to fall over and roll the rest of the way. I had to force my feet back down to the ground because my quads knotted up. I prayed and leaned forward. At mile 25 the pain subsided some and I could push through to the end. At mile 25.5 Calvin and Curtis ran with me for a little as I approached the home stretch. It was amazing to have Jenny and the others there at the finish line for me as I came through. I was so happy to see them all.

This is a great accomplishment for me but I believe God is calling me to pursue Him with the same perseverance. Many times it is much easier to force my body through rigorous exercises but when it comes to my spiritual life I find it much more difficult.

I don't think I will be doing a marathon for a while but maybe I'll do it again sometime. Thank you all for your prayers.

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.