Lessons From the Race

Saturday was pretty awesome. 

After the disappointment of knee surgery a few years ago, and a lot of hard work, I finally crossed the finish line of my first half-marathon.

Running has taught me a lot.
Running in a pack of 2500 people at the Madison Mini added a few more lessons.

1) Run YOUR race

"let US run with endurance the race that is set before US." Hebrews 12:1

The first three miles were pretty bunched up, but our personal paces began to spread the field. A few times I would try to pace with a faster runner, but I gave up that strategy pretty quickly. 

The only person I was competing against was myself. 

Hebrews reminds US to run our race. That means both the general race for all Christians as well as the race of God's specific will for each of us. Faster runners and more faithful believers can be an inspiration, but forgetting to run your race in the meantime will likely lead only to defeat. 

2) Be an encourager

"encourage one another and build one another up" 1 Thess. 5:11

10 cheer stations along the course provided us with hydration and adrenaline! My tired body perked up around the 9 and 11 mile marks with shouts of encouragement and cups of gatorade. The Madison Memorial Girls CC team above got my vote as the best cheer station. The Super Mario power-up mushroom sign was epic!

Encouragement is powerful. 

It doesn't take a lot of encouragement to keep us going, whether it's a challenging run or life situation. When we feel broken down, encouragement can build us back up! So don't wonder if that person could use a little encouragement...just treat them like you wish they'd treat you!

3) Celebrate your wins

"at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem [the people came] to celebrate joyfully." Nehemiah 12:27

This is my favorite picture from race day. When I told my wife I wanted to run the Madison Mini, she jumped in for the 5K race. Numerous times she's downplayed finishing the 5K in comparison to my race, but I wouldn't hear of it. She doesn't love running, yet did the work all by herself to have her best pace of the summer!!!

It's not a sin to celebrate.

The work of Nehemiah and his people in restoring the broken down walls of Jerusalem had been hard work, and what's the point of working hard if you're not going to celebrate the accomplishment? It's not prideful to celebrate a milestone and we would do well to celebrate more!

Whether you're running the race of the track or of life, I hope these lessons are as meaningful to you as they were to me. Check in next week as I share a bit on the subject of "If God knows the number of my days, then why run?"