Significance of "All Out Endurance" - Part 1

Well, I have delayed in explaining the title of this blog.  All Out Endurance...this phrase appealed to me because I am a distance runner, and also because it wasn't taken already!  In all seriousness, I had a lot of options for blog titles before I decided on this one, most of which had to do with the many parallels that exist between faith, life, running, and sports in general.  I don't remember exactly how I thought of these three words together, but it was probably on one of the long runs I did before the Chicago Marathon last October.  Let me tell you, when you are running for 2-3 hours alone, the mind thinks up all kinds of things!  Probably the mix of endorphins, boredom, and physical fatigue all contributed to allowing my brain to think just a little more creatively than it usually does.


In itself, all out endurance is a paradox to the running world; I can't be physically going "all out" and yet pace myself at the same time.  In shorter races, I can go all out physically, never settling in to a position or pace.  At the least, I can be intently focused on the finish line, so that when I cross it, I know I couldn't have given anything else.  But in a race like a marathon (or even something as "short" as a 5k), it would be ridiculous to go "all out" over the 26.2 mile course.  In a marathon, endurance is the key.  Now I personally can't speak from experience on how it feels to finish a marathon the right way--after going out too fast the first 10 miles and just trying not to walk the last 10 miles in 80 degree weather--but no matter what, anyone who attempts to finish should have used a pretty decent amount of physical endurance in covering that distance on foot!  However, to say that the effort was all out would be inaccurate, because marathoners know they cannot give 100% of their effort for 3+ hours or they would die trying.


So if it is not possible in running to have all out endurance, why is this my theme?  Even in other things, if I give 100% to something 100% of the time, won't I eventually burn out?  Get sick of it?  Quit?  For most things, this is probably true.  Everyone needs a physical and mental break from time to time or else we will certainly "break" down in one way or another.  However, I believe there is one thing, at least that I have experienced, that we can go all out for, all the time.


There are so many analogies people make between having faith in God and things we do--running, working, celebrating, learning, serving, and a multitude of other actions and parts of life.  But all analogies lose their value at some point because there is nothing, NOTHING in this world that can be compared with our God.  I have never been more certain that he is worth going all out for; he will restore me when I fall; he knows me better than I know myself; he loves me no matter what; he is always perfectly unchanging; he will help me to endure, and not only endure but to embrace pain and experience joy through it all; he has suffered more than I could ever imagine, much less experience myself; and, finally, he is everything!  Nothing else really matters in the grand scheme of things, and nothing else should matter more than giving glory to God for loving us, creating us, paying the ultimate price to save us, and wanting us to follow him and accept the grace he offers.  All around, God himself best exemplifies all out endurance because he has always given 100%, will continue to give 100%, and has endured everything for our sake through his son.


This all may be starting to sound a little abstract, so I will attempt to illustrate of how I've recently seen his plans at work and his presence in my life.  But first, some background: about 8 years ago, I decided I would try to become a great runner.  God has blessed me with athletic talent, and I have always loved sports.  I also played basketball, soccer and softball competitively, but by the end of my high school career I felt most confident and passionate about cross country and track.  I had also developed my closest friendships through these teams and learned a good amount of life lessons in the process.  During my undergraduate experience, I was a part of an amazing team and have so many great memories from each season.  I developed as a runner slowly and struggled through various issues along the way, but finished with much-improved junior and senior seasons.  However, even though I became "fast" by my standards at the time, I struggled not to define myself in comparison with other runners' performances, including those of my teammates.  Like many college athletes, I dreamed of becoming an All-American or part of a national championship team.  In itself, these were good goals to have and many of my teammates shared these dreams with me.  Looking back I think I kept other things in perspective to running at times, but I know I also allowed running to take priority more often than it should have.


Without going into many unnecessary details, my senior year ended up being frustrating and disappointing from a running standpoint.  Despite the fact that my race times had improved, I had expected more of myself and did not run at a national meet like I had the opportunity to do twice my junior year.  I struggled with pride issues before, and I had allowed it to creep back into my thoughts; also, I went back to defining myself by how I performed in races.  Even though I had some regrets from competing, I tried to see the bigger picture and honestly "get over myself" because clearly, I needed to realize that there was much more to life than college running.  Much of what happened throughout the year had been out of my control, and more importantly I was still so happy to have been part of the awesome community that made up our team!  However, I decided that after track season I would need another goal to keep me from going into withdrawal, so I signed up for the marathon in April and decided to raise money for a charity through it.  After having decided on summer and grad school plans, I figured I would be done with competing on a team since I had used up all but one season of indoor track eligibility, and I was ready to be done.  I was physically and mentally ready to move on and hang up the racing spikes for good.


"What we've learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We've finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade." (Romans 3:28, MSG)