"Run" By Faith

Would I believe you when you would say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words
You say Every moment of every day

Well I will “run” by faith
Even when I cannot see it
Well because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me
Help me to win my endless fears
You've been so faithful for all my years
With the one breath You make me new
Your grace covers all I do

Jeremy Camp – Walk by Faith

It is impossible to go into a marathon without faith – faith in God to help guide you, complete faith in yourself and faith from others. Faith is not only needed on the day of the marathon but every day, every minute and every mile leading up to those 26.2 miles. It is also impossible to go through life without this same faith. Let Him in and He will help guide you. Let yourself in and you will find your way. Let others in to support you. Your fears will disappear.

It was marathon time again as I headed off to Houston to run my 26th marathon and beyond (ultrathon) in my 15th state. The ultrathon is my contentment, comfort and peace. Ask any veteran ultrathon runner where they find their peace and they will surely say that it is during the extended time and many miles of running. It is where I feel close to God, myself and others, yet, in a solitary way. It is where I feel safe. It is my community where I know every runner yet none at all. Because of my new found faith, the Houston Marathon was one of my most fearless marathons. I was calm and relaxed at the start putting my faith in all I have asked and done. God had already helped with the weather and now it was up to us to make the most of it. With 18,000 runners, there were just as many reasons and stories to be running that day. In fact, the philanthropic nature of the Houston Marathon is branded as a “Reason to Run” allowing fundraising for many of Houston’s local charities as well as some national charities.

During the marathon, I let my thoughts and eyes drift around the pack of runners and even to the spectators lining the streets waiting for their runner to pass by and spend a few seconds with them. Undoubtedly, these are the people that put faith in them, who encourage them, who believe in them. The great thing about most spectators is that they not only put faith in their runner but every runner who passes by. The bibs for the Houston Marathon not only identified us by number but also by first name. I didn’t know anyone personally in Houston; however, I heard my name called more times than I could count being offered words of encouragement and signs of faith.

I do believe that many of the spectators look out onto the course wishing that they were making this journey through the urban jungle. It may inspire many to do just this and if not 26.2 miles maybe 1 mile or 3.1 miles. I sometimes believe it is harder being a spectator or volunteer than it is a runner. The volunteers work for most of the marathon encouraging and helping the runners in so many ways. It is truly a marathon for them as they work throughout the weekend to make the marathon successful. Another group of individuals who have their work cut out for them are the police. I usually thank them since they spend hours on end to keep us safe from impatient drivers.

Until I needed focus on getting through the later miles, I consciously made an effort to glance around the pack of runners around me. Of course, you only get to see the back or sides of everyone but you can always feel their presence. I thought about all the reasons people were running, all they have done to get to this point on this day and if they would ever do it again. I noticed runners running alone, runners trying to strike up conversations to distract their minds from the miles and pain and groups of runners running for a cause. At some point you settle into a pace and you run with others around that pace. I settled into a strong pace after 5 miles but noticed another runner at about the same pace. We seemed to push each other for the next 15 miles but staying juxtaposed for most of the time. We never glanced at one another and never said a word but we knew that we were helping one another. At one point I moved ahead during a water stop and thought that I had lost this person so I was back to pacing myself. To my surprise, this person passed me at mile 25 never saying a word and never looking back but I would like to believe that it was runners helping each other to get the most out of their ability.

The only way to run a marathon is to “Run by Faith” and the only way to get through life is to “Walk by Faith”. As I take more breaths searching for a way to make me new, either running or walking, it will be through faith.