In January, I signed up to run the Horsetooth Half-Marathon (13.11 miles) that would happen on April 13, 2025. I have done this race before but it has been at least a decade since I last ran it. I stepped into a half marathon run plan and worked hard to keep to the plan and schedule. Even on a road trip to Canada with my friend, Sarah!
On the day of the race, there were around 2,400 people set to run and we all gathered by the starting line well before 8 am when the race would start. People were using toilets, stretching, having small drinks of water, slow running to warm up, even a few people sprinting to warm up! We took off and had two large climbs at the start of about 5 total which makes this race really fun and challenging at the same time. The first half of the race is all the climbing. The second half is basically flat.
I had come down with a cold the week before and was just starting to feel better by race day but was still determined to race! I had worked so hard and was so excited to run! By mile 9, I was starting to feel draggy and wondered how I was going to keep going. I took a few short walking breaks which seemed to help. At one point, I saw a kid holding a sign that said, "Dig Deep, You Got This!" so I ran some more, of course! When I only had two miles left, I thought, "I can run 2 more miles" and at the same time, "Please, God, help me run the last two miles!" And He did! I made it! The pictures you see are the ones that were taken during the race that we could download from the website.
On Monday, I had an online call with a friend who is with Member Care (TeachBeyond) and is currently in Kandern. She asked me how running a half-marathon coincides with living out our faith in this life. It was such a good conversation that I thought I would share the highlights here.
- Running a half-marathon or a marathon for that matter, requires the runner to pace themselves throughout the race so they are able to finish the race. Starting off too fast will use up a lot of energy and negatively impact the runner later in the race. At the same time, living the Christian life is not a sprint. It is a marathon where endurance is required. The author of Hebrews calls us to run with perseverance.
- When a person signs up for a half-marathon, that person is also committing themselves to train for it. This means that most everyday, the person takes time to run a certain distance and builds up their distances over time so that they can run the distance required on race day. In the same way, we live out our faith everyday in that we spend time with our Lord on a daily basis. This can be called a quiet time or devotional time where we spend time in the Word and prayer. This is vital in our personal relationship with our Father. Daily time with Him deepens our relationship with Him and prepares us for the hard times that we will all face.
- Running long distances can be hard and runners play lots of mental games to keep them motivated. Some that I have done are telling myself, "One step at a time." or "You got this!" or "If you made it up this hill, you can do the rest!" as I am climbing a steep hill. In a similar way, we remind ourselves of truths from God's Word. Even speaking truths to ourselves out loud and/or reciting scripture to give ourselves the right mindset. This is especially important when we find ourselves in rotten attitudes and moments when we aren't taking every thought captive.
- It tends to hit around 3/4 of the race being completed where the runner may feel tired. Weary. Wants to give up. The temptation to walk. We think about the hours we have put in our training, see the other runners around us and think if they can keep going, I can. The cowbells also help! And the motivational posters too! In a similar way, we at times become weary of living out our Christian faith. Too many people are vying for our attention, there are too many needs, we don't want to lead or join in a certain event for whatever reason (usually selfish ones, at least for me). In these moments, it helps to lay these feelings and weariness at the feet of Christ. He definitely had times of weariness here on earth. Yet, He kept going. It may even help to share some of these burdens with a trusted friend and ask for prayer to endure. We cannot make it through this life without God by our side. He gives us the strength to keep going and to endure. I think I tend to see this more as I look back. :)
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