Revelation in Running
I have experienced God in a Protestant Church setting and often it has been profound. However there is something about running for over 8 hours which strips the soul bare and encourages communication with the Almighty.
Episode 1
My first attempt at running over 100K was at a 12hour track race in Bunbury. Then the only organised opportunity to run such a distance in WA. Ten days earlier I was out on a regular short training run when I rolled my ankle. As I walked home lamenting the poor timing, God spoke “ You will run 107K, Nathan (my brother-in-law) will run 96K”. This came to fruition on race day.
Episode2
Running around a track is great to test yourself but my heart lay on bush trails. My first 100K trail run was from Mundaring to Jarrahdale, largely unsupported and carrying a pack. Having basically exhausted myself the previous day umpiring footy I arrived atop of the first hill at 18K “spent”. After a conversation with God around 60K where he encouraged me to continue, I enjoyed finishing in the dark after 14 hours.
Episode 3
Since my childhood marvelling over the 1000K Sydney to Melbourne footrace I had longed to run great distances. In 2005 I read about 100 mile trail races. I dreamt for 2 years, then I began. At 70K 100 miles seemed a long way off. My wife ran out to meet me and after praying for me I was transformed. The rest of the race was a joy, and I won.
Episode 4
The Mandurah Relay for Life (R4L) was a training run for a cause (Cancer Council) where my “team” consisted of 1 runner. I started from scratch walking every 7th lap not so much for the Godliness of the number but because I was counting laps on a cricket counter and there are 6 balls in an over. After a long while in the hot sun I decided I would be content with 100K and wouldn’t complete the 24 hours.
After many hours I became somewhat of a spectacle. “Who’s the 1 man team running the whole way?” One teenage girl decided she would run a lap with me. She had never run more than 5K before but over the course of 2hours we ran over 12K together, and shared life and faith.
Episode 5
Narrogin Relay for Life was special because after some trying times I was looking forward to a more hopeful future. I also put on my 1 man spectacle and met some great people whilst walking through the early hours of the morning. I was grateful that after being injured and unable to run all week I managed 118K of running and walking.
Episode 6
Mundaring to Jarrahdale Round 2.
I’ve read and re-read my training diary to see why this run went so well and there are reasons both physical and mental why I ran 3 and a half hours faster than the previous year. However the memory that reminds me there was “something else” going on is from the 22K mark. I felt the beginnings of fatigue in my legs and thought “ This is going to be a long day” but almost instantly it melted away and the race was almost effortless. (Well relatively) I later learnt one of my students had prayed for me throughout race day.
Episode 7
By June this year I had improved enough to be targeting a 100K time of 9hours 15 minutes. However it wasn’t my day and I felt tired and unmotivated from early on. I wanted to pull out or at least walk but God kept telling me “Don’t quit” and I was grateful when I finally finished my 100K from Mundaring Weir to Northam under 10 hours for the first time.
Conclusion
This like the bible is a far from all inclusive “highlights package” of God’s interaction with man (one man). There has been other God moments in my life but as a wise philosopher once said “He who suffers remembers”.
Episode 1
My first attempt at running over 100K was at a 12hour track race in Bunbury. Then the only organised opportunity to run such a distance in WA. Ten days earlier I was out on a regular short training run when I rolled my ankle. As I walked home lamenting the poor timing, God spoke “ You will run 107K, Nathan (my brother-in-law) will run 96K”. This came to fruition on race day.
Episode2
Running around a track is great to test yourself but my heart lay on bush trails. My first 100K trail run was from Mundaring to Jarrahdale, largely unsupported and carrying a pack. Having basically exhausted myself the previous day umpiring footy I arrived atop of the first hill at 18K “spent”. After a conversation with God around 60K where he encouraged me to continue, I enjoyed finishing in the dark after 14 hours.
Episode 3
Since my childhood marvelling over the 1000K Sydney to Melbourne footrace I had longed to run great distances. In 2005 I read about 100 mile trail races. I dreamt for 2 years, then I began. At 70K 100 miles seemed a long way off. My wife ran out to meet me and after praying for me I was transformed. The rest of the race was a joy, and I won.
Episode 4
The Mandurah Relay for Life (R4L) was a training run for a cause (Cancer Council) where my “team” consisted of 1 runner. I started from scratch walking every 7th lap not so much for the Godliness of the number but because I was counting laps on a cricket counter and there are 6 balls in an over. After a long while in the hot sun I decided I would be content with 100K and wouldn’t complete the 24 hours.
After many hours I became somewhat of a spectacle. “Who’s the 1 man team running the whole way?” One teenage girl decided she would run a lap with me. She had never run more than 5K before but over the course of 2hours we ran over 12K together, and shared life and faith.
Episode 5
Narrogin Relay for Life was special because after some trying times I was looking forward to a more hopeful future. I also put on my 1 man spectacle and met some great people whilst walking through the early hours of the morning. I was grateful that after being injured and unable to run all week I managed 118K of running and walking.
Episode 6
Mundaring to Jarrahdale Round 2.
I’ve read and re-read my training diary to see why this run went so well and there are reasons both physical and mental why I ran 3 and a half hours faster than the previous year. However the memory that reminds me there was “something else” going on is from the 22K mark. I felt the beginnings of fatigue in my legs and thought “ This is going to be a long day” but almost instantly it melted away and the race was almost effortless. (Well relatively) I later learnt one of my students had prayed for me throughout race day.
Episode 7
By June this year I had improved enough to be targeting a 100K time of 9hours 15 minutes. However it wasn’t my day and I felt tired and unmotivated from early on. I wanted to pull out or at least walk but God kept telling me “Don’t quit” and I was grateful when I finally finished my 100K from Mundaring Weir to Northam under 10 hours for the first time.
Conclusion
This like the bible is a far from all inclusive “highlights package” of God’s interaction with man (one man). There has been other God moments in my life but as a wise philosopher once said “He who suffers remembers”.
posted by dave at 5:29 PM
1 comments
