Are ‘runners’ crazy?

I have made fun of runners for years.  I believe that the reason I did this was due to the fact that I thought I was unable to run.  I used to make jokes that the only reason I would run was if a dog was chasing me.  This past week I just ran a full marathon, which is 26.2 miles or 44 kilometers.  How did I get there?

My wife would ask me to walk with her after dinner.  Over time we walked further and further.  When she was invited by a friend to run in a local race, she came home  full of excitement about how much fun it was.  This excitement got me thinking about how I should join my wife and give running a try.  As we progressed from a local race to several half marathons, I started reading about what it would take to do a full marathon.  I asked my wife if she wanted to try one and she replied that she didn’t want to run that far.  Now that I have tried it, I know why she said this!

A friend of mine and I decided that we would try to do this together.  We started training for it.  Each day we added more miles to our practice runs.  The first weekend we ran 8 miles, then 12, 15, and 20.  20 miles was when we started slowing down prior to the marathon race.

This race of 26.2 miles was really not for the faint of heart.  Much to my surprise, many people in the race were my age (40ish) and several were 30 and 40 years older.  I could not believe the people trying to do this!  It seems that a marathon is either for the young,  that finish in hours, or for the old, who just want to see if they can finish.  I was one of the old ones!

The reason that I am writing about this is because of  how a marathon race, with all of the training, running, and reaching the finish line, relate to life.

Running the race you see that people team up; people support others; people seek the finish line; and people get medals!  Wow, the feeling of accomplishment is mind blowing!  So many times, I just want to sit and do nothing.  I want to relax!  I want to eat what I like to eat!  The result of this is a large person dealing with severe health issues.

You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.  1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (MSG)

What causes you not to get up and run the race of life?  Who can you help get up?  Who can help you get up? Are you willing to live the life God has planned for you? Are you willing to see what God can do in you?