My dad worked at a college when I was in my teens.
One summer, I would meet a girl to play tennis at the college almost every morning, her father was employed by the college as well. It worked out great, our dads would be in their offices while we played tennis and hung around the campus.
Once, my family went to this girl’s house. The girl and I played tennis, went swimming in the pool, and our families shared a meal.
That evening, the girl told me she was going to go running and invited me along. I ran track, so I thought I would be fine. And as a normal teenage boy, I wanted to impress the girl.
That’s when the difference between sprinting and distance running was made crystal clear to me. In track, I usually competed in the 100 meters, 400 meters, and the high jump.
This girl was a cross country runner. For the first half mile of our run, I was good. But soon after, she was still able to carry on a conversation, and I felt like I was going to die. I could barely breathe, much less talk. If I remember correctly, we ran 2.5 miles, though in my mind, it felt like a marathon.
My pride wouldn’t let me stop, but I was out of my element to say the least.
Life is more like a marathon than a sprint.
We assume if we’ve fallen behind we don’t have a chance to win. But the truth is, there is always time to get back in the race.
Because it’s a long race and it’s worth running.
The story behind the first marathon is a great lesson itself. A messenger named Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens (about 22 miles) proclaiming that a battle had been won, and his people were victorious.
If you feel like you’re behind in life, like the race isn’t worth running. Don’t give up, there is more distance to cover, more meaning to uncover, and more joy to discover.
And when you get back in the race, you will be carrying a message about how your battle has been won, and you are victorious.
Learn from my teenage experience, ask for help if you need it. Maybe even stop and catch your breath. But whatever you do, make sure you get back in the race.
Life is a long distance race, running is winning.
-Tom Wise
