Marathon running is something I’ve never been tempted to do but should someone coerce me into doing the 26.2 miles, I’ve come up with a game plan. I’ll bolt a treadmill to the bed of my little red pickup and have my son drive the 26.2 miles while I’m in the bed of the truck running on the treadmill. If he drives 55, the wind will keep me from sweating (much), and we could complete the marathon in less than 30 minutes. I’d be home resting and downing Doritos before the other runners hit the finish line.

I’ve never quite understood the reasoning of runners who decide to put themselves through the rigorous training just so they can spend 4-5 hours in a grueling trek toward a finish line—and eventually toward the Acme Knee Replacement Emporium. At least they can put a cool “26.2” sticker on the back of the Jeep.

(Lest you think I am a bona fide couch potato, I used to love cycling long distances. Accidents, age, and aching bones have moved me inside to a recumbent bike.)

One thing we can admire about those who do marathons and triathlons is their perseverance. They don’t just have to persevere on the day of the event; they have to persevere for weeks and months beforehand as they train. Perseverance is not an option.

Cliff Young

Perseverance was redefined in 1983 by an Australian named Cliff Young. Young entered the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon, a race that covered a mere 544 miles. Young was clearly out of place among the 100 other runners. First of all, he did not live up to his name. His name may have been Young, but he was not young, especially for someone about to hoof 544 miles. He was sixty-one. But it wasn’t his age that people noticed; what caught their attention was his running attire: cheap sneakers and long plastic trousers.

The lack of respect from the other runners did not ease up when the race started. They easily outpaced him. He just shuffled along, and by the end of the first day, he was way behind the other runners. But that first night was when everything changed. While the other runners slept, Young came running … er, shuffling. In fact, during the entire five-day race, Young slept very little. He just persevered and kept on with his version of running.

Cliff Young surprised everyone by winning the race. Just so you’ll know how much his perseverance paid off, the runner who came in second did so ten hours later. Ten hours!

It helps to know Young’s background.

““I grew up on a farm where we couldn’t afford horses or tractors, and the whole time I was growing up, whenever the storms would roll in, I’d have to go out and round up the sheep. We had 2,000 sheep on 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days. It took a long time, but I’d always catch them. I believe I can run this race.” [Source]

Those who choose to run in marathons and ultramarathons have to learn perseverance to train. Cliff Young was training with his whole life. Perseverance was a way of life for him.

The Christian life is a journey, one the writer of Hebrews compared to a race.

“Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us” (Heb. 12:1).

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash.

As a Christian, the issue is not how fast you run the race. The issue is that you keep running, you endure, and you stay in it. There are a lot of things that can distract us from running. We can be tempted to sit it out from time to time. But we only win the race as we persevere and keep on running. I encourage you to see every aspect of your life as a part of that training. And what do you do when you train? You persevere.

Hebrews 12:1-2 point us to two areas where, if we persevere, we will run the race successfully.

  1. Lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us.
  2. Keep our eyes on Jesus.

I have no plans to run an ultramarathon, a marathon, or even a half-marathon. I don’t even plan to run to the mailbox, but I do plan to run the race in which God has placed me. And I plan to endure whatever comes my way and persevere in moving forward. I plan to keep my eyes on Jesus.

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