Here’s a legit
question: Why in the heck would anyone
in their right mind (or left mind for that matter) willingly train and run
twenty-six point two miles? For the prize money? Um, no.
To lose weight? Strike two. (Unless you have serious pounds to shed, no
one really loses weight when the demands of a training regimen require so dang
much energy. It can’t be helped, if you
are running sixteen miles you are going to eat your left hand off if need be. Say la vie.) Well then, could it be for all the acclaim,
the attention with everyone telling you how awesome you are? Yeah… No.
While that can be a little icing on the cake and it might be the answer
for shorter-distance racing, it ain’t the cake; it isn’t the heart of it.
And there it is. The answer.
The heart of it. I have been
trying to put my finger on it in words as these weeks and miles have run by, to
explain to those who haven’t experienced a marathon what it means to complete
one. I have compared it to my Catholic
faith, as for me, it is the only thing that is similar.
We Catholics and all our
fasting and kneeling at church and all those rules and requirements… While to the worldly view it can seem like
things designed only to hold you prisoner- really, what it is designed to do is
set you free.
Freedom. That is at the heart of it. One has only to look at the crucifix and see
what total and complete freedom is. Jesus
showed us, He demonstrated that although He may have been bound, nailed,
affixed to that gross implement of torture and death, His heart was never
conquered. No matter what the world can
dish out- you can be stronger, you can rise above it, you can be free. In a marathon, there is no greater rush or
feeling than conquering every bit of fear and pain that our bodily confines can
dish out. And if you are left solely to
rely on your body to make it to the finish line, you will not be able to do
it.
There comes a point in
each runner’s unique experience when they must move beyond the physical and grab
on to only the heart.
Long-distance runners
understand this. My friend and neighbor
Kirk Steen understood this. He was all
in. He got the concept and he was on the
bandwagon. And when you “get it” when
you experience that other-level kind of freedom, it can be addictive- and it
can lead you to run and run more and more marathons- forever striving and
feeling that ultimate joy of freedom and triumph over insurmountable obstacles.
My friend Kirk had a
mission given him by God, as we all have when He created us. While we cannot understand this side of
heaven, Kirk finished his race, and God took him home. But I am left with the words a friend of his and
running comrade posted on his facebook wall.
The lady was talking
about a marathon she was running, that she was all done come mile twenty. She was going to stop; she could go no more
when at an approaching water station she saw Kirk. He started running with her there and she
wrote that she will never forget his words: "Alma,
you got this, I know you can do it, I believe in you, you are strong and you
know exactly what to do, I'm so proud of you... this is all mental, it’s pure
heart running and you got a lot of heart on this!"
Here’s to you Kirk Steen. You have
left your mark on all those who were graced to know you- A true runner: determined,
steady, strong, faith-filled… May the Perpetual Light shine on you, and may you
rest in peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment