The Marathon

As some of you may know, I ran my first full marathon this past Saturday in Fort Worth. 26.2 miles. That is a far cry from 13.1, the most I had ever raced to this point. Sometimes the body just does things the mind never thought it could...

Andrew and I left for the race on Friday night. Upon arriving at my parents' house around 9:00 p.m., I followed my pre-race rituals of stretching, a light snack, and an early bedtime. The early bedtime was pointless this weekend; my heart was already running the next day's race. 5:15 came early, but I felt ready. Andrew and I left with my parents around 5:45 and arrived at the race uneventfully. (In these races, you are always at an advantage if you have run them before. You know that you can take the later exit and still find parking, thereby missing most of the traffic. You also know that you can use the restroom and stay warm in the nearby Hilton, where the owner frowns upon the runners trickling into his lobby but decides to let them stay anyway.)

God was so gracious to provide perfect running weather on Saturday. I was taken aback by this grace because He brought out the sun and stopped the wind literally only for Saturday. The previous days had been windy and cold, and although Sunday was still warm-ish, the wind picked up again. The fact that the Creator of the world and all things in it chose to think of me that day still boggles my small mind.

The race was great. I did not do quite as well as I had hoped, but I did finish under 5 hours, which had been my original goal. I reminded myself during the race (and have many times since then) that some attempts at running marathons are ended just yards before the finish line, while others are halted with a mid-race injury. I have much for which to be thankful.

Andrew was kind enough to run the last few miles of the race with me. I was starting to get cramps and do not know what I would have done without his encouragement. My parents walked about 6-7 miles to try to find me at different points, taking pictures and cheering all along the way. One of my dearest friends, Mandy, was waiting for me at the finish. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support. God reminds me every day of his perfect love through people like you.

Several times during the race, I found myself thinking, "This is so painful. I don't even know why I wanted to do this." But looking back on it, running a marathon was truly an experience of a lifetime. Before the race, I had been more than a little burned out of running. During it, I was able to enjoy the nice scenery and was reminded of the blessing it is to have legs that obey my brain.

Will I do another one? I don't know. It definitely won't be tomorrow.

In Christ alone,
Mary Rachel