On October 13, 2024, I ran through the streets of Chicago with 52,150 other marathon finishers. We started the race down the Magnificent Mile in view of iconic skyscrapers. We pressed through the festive, historic China Town. We ascended “Mount Roosevelt” near the end of the race, where the small rise feels like a mountain on an otherwise flat course. Then, we crossed the finish line at mile 26.2 in Grant Park.
The race winds through 29 Chicago neighborhoods where an estimated 1.7 million spectators cheer us on.1 Somewhere among the throngs of people, I knew that Cindy and Ellie (wife and daughter) were cheering me on and preparing to celebrate with me at the finish line. The stakes were high on this race—if I set a Personal Record in the marathon, we were going directly from the finish line to an ice cream stand. My family knows how to motivate me.
Make no mistake, I am competitive. Super competitive. I train for weeks. I push my body to its limits in preparation for race day. I will pause here. I know what you are thinking. In reality, who really cares about how fast a 50-year old man runs?
I hear you about reality. But I care. The other 50-year old men I am competing with also care. We have time goals. We have ranking goals. Entering Chicago, I had a defined time goal I was going after along with raising the bar on my national ranking as a marathon runner.
Following Through
My pace was great in the first half of the race. My stamina was holding up well past the infamous “wall” that plagues runners around mile 19.
But.
Going into mile 24, I knew that I had some time in the bank. I could coast a bit. I was tired. I had to catch a plane to head to North Carolina that night and attend meetings the following day. I wondered if the pain was really worth pushing hard at this point. Even worse, I forgot about the ice cream waiting at the end of the race. I simply needed to keep going at a consistent pace. I did not need to do anything new. The plan at this point was easy. One foot in front of the other. Breathe. Finish the race. Yet, I forgot to keep doing the plan. My pace slackened.Following through on the plan is easy before the race. During the race, there are all sorts of excuses to ditch the plan. And miss the mark.
Mile 25
With about two miles left, a runner caught up to me on my right. I was fatigued. My gait was wandering. I was doing the old man runner’s wheeze where I groaned with my exhale and inhale. And then my race changed.
The runner called out to me so I looked in his direction. He glanced in my direction and said, “Hang in there. You’ve got this.” Honestly, I really do not like it when people say this. How do they know what I’ve got in the tank? With mild irritation, I grunted a “Thanks.”
The runner was not done. He got my attention again, and said “C’mon!” He extended his fist for a fist bump. He was winning me over at this point. His energy and enthusiasm were waking me up out of my runner stupor.
And then, he stared ahead of us and shouted, “Stick with me.” We picked up our pace. I was no longer alone. The pace was indeed manage-able. What I had told myself was impossible, my new running partner showed me was attainable for both of us. He said it, and he showed it.
I did not start running an Olympic pace at this point. No spectator pointed to me with astonishment of the quickening pace. But my race had changed. I held the pace with the pacesetter for the next mile, and then we closed out the final two-tenths of a mile with a kick to the finish line.
And, I got my ice cream.
Re-Resolutions
Far too often, we think that we need to do some-thing brand new to get something back on track. This is true as individuals. This is also true for us as churches and a Conference when we look to start the next silver bullet solution that has been popularized. Sometimes we just need to put one foot in front of the other and breathe.
Rather than a resolution to start something new, what if we looked at the core ministries God has called us to faithfully steward? What if we honestly examine some of the key resources that God has blessed us with and discern how to best steward them in this season?
Perhaps a re-resolution is the best approach. A re-resolution is where we examine something that God has called us join Him in, but we have slackened. We have become distracted and chased after other things. Perhaps this is a Mile 25 season for us where we should follow through on what we know we need to do rather than searching out the next new thing.
I hope that we fist bump one another at our proverbial Mile 25, and shout out, “C’mon. Stick with me.” God has a great race ahead of us.
If you are at a Mile 25 moment, I would love to hear about it. Please email your story! social@seventhdaybaptist.org
