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Random Ramblings of a Catholic Runner
“ If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together.” – African Proverb.I am a Catholic and I am a Runner. I wanted to pen down a few thoughts on the same.We read in 1 Cor 6:19, that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Keeping our bodies fit is therefore an important aspect for us. Running is slowly gaining mindshare in Asia as a great way to keep physically fit without the need of eny expensive Club or Gym memberships, or sports equipment. Really, other than a reasonably good pair of running shoes , and some comfortable sports wear you don’t need much to run..
A rather late entrant to the world of running, I took up the sport more by accident than anything else. Have been a mediocre tennis player all my life and used to go to the gym. One day , a friend mentioned to me, “you run well on the treadmill, why don’t you consider running outside, it’s a great experience.” This set me thinking, I decided to try it out and loved the experience of running out on the roads of my city, early morning, where one is exposed to the best of God’s creations. Due to the huge traffic, one needs to start the run early, and as the magic of the fresh air, nature and sun come up , sights around are simply magical experiences. Along the way, I made lot of friends in various running groups, participated in several 5ks, 10ks and Half Marathons ( always stopping by the nearest Catholic Church on the way to the race for a quick prayer) , losing over 17 kg in the process( though I have gained back some of it over a period of time) and doing rather well in my age group, by Grace of God. For the first time in my life, I was not mediocre at a sporting activity and I fell in love with running. The Runners High does indeed exist!
Wait, stop! This is not really any article just about running. But how I learnt more about my Catholic faith through my experiences as a runner. While there are many experiences documented about Catholics in US and elsewhere and in fact, even several Catholic Priests and Nuns are famous for running regularly and writing about their experiences, and there are movements like LIFE Runners ( Pro Life runners) , not many organised Catholic running groups exist here in Asia. Therefore I am very happy to know about the Salvation Run club, planning to launch soon and meet regularly. . Along with my children, I have also participated in several versions of the very well organised Salvation Runs in the previous years. Why does one run? Let us look at the end goal- first for a runner and a Catholic. The Finish Line in a Race for a runner, Salvation for a Catholic. An undescribable feeling on reaching there,. Best described in the words of St Paul: “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. “ 2 Timothy 4: 7. This is the goal of every one. But how to get there? One cannot attain the goal of Salvation or complete a Marathon just like that.
There is first a stage of desire: I must want to reach that finish line or aim for Salvation. This must be a burning desire within me. Then I can start the preperation steps to reach the goal. For example, preparing for a Full Marathon - FM ( 42.2 km) cannot be just done wthout many months or years of practise and training ( including knowledge cross training and strengthening exercises) : first running n smaller events: 5k, 10K, Half Marathon ( 21.1 km) and then FM . All under the guidance of an experienced coach, mentor or running group. Much like our life as a Catholic. From Baptism at Birth (mostly for us), Participation in Masses, to preparation for catechism for First Communion Preparation, Confession, Confirmation and finally discerning our Final state of vocation in life : Married, Religious, Single- whatever the Lord calls us for. We cannot reach this stage without the months and years of prepation by our parents, grandparents, Priests and parish Community Along the way, as a runner in the process of training for events, I have experienced many moments of injury, self doubt and sometimes questioning why do I even do this? Overcoming all these moments with the support and guidance of an experienced mentor who is himself a good runner or being part of a running group has helped me . In reading the lives of our Catholic Saints, we can see that they have also experienced moments of Spiritual darkness and doubts, but have overcome these moments by prayer, and good spiritual advise. From their Priest and Spiritual Directors.
The great moments in running are the moments in the race, when all the months of training pays off, and you are running to your planned pace and rhythm, in harmony with the other runners around you and Nature, Very conducive for entering a prayerful stage and one that I find totally relaxing and in harmony with our Creator. I have found this stage, in fact very conducive to praying.
Another experience in running, is that despite all the preparation, when you take part in the event, you could experience difficulty in the race itself and sometimes may not even finish ( this is called a DNF). This could also happen if you have not trained properly. Once I lost the power on my Garmin ( GPS watch), and could not know what pace I was maintaining. Asking a total stranger for help, he ran almost 15km with me to the finish line. I also came back from a DNF experince, after an experienced runner mentored me and I could conquer the ghosts of the past by completing the same event, a year later. Now, I am being guided to train for a running event by an experienced runner who has been advised by Doctors not to run for a while. Selflessly he shares his knowledge of heart rate based running, hydration, nutrition and a training schedule of three structured runs a week, with varying pace and distances.
All this help I have received , without any reward expected by the person helping. This is really the spirit of running, and it is not just about winning medals or boasting about fast timings on social media. It is like seeing the Good Samaritan experience in action. What we also see in our Churches, when the community reaches out to help the needy and the sick. The Priests praying for you and giving one Confession and the Holy Eucharist, really brings us back to the state of Grace and we are strengthened to carry on with the race of life itself. Ultimately, you will keep on doing something if you feel magic, peace and something good in you and others. In a race, hearing the synchronised thump of thousands of other runners feet early morning ,the sights, works of nature and even that of man in a totally new light , one struggling runner being helped by another, These are some of the reasons I continue to run, and even after being injured, take time to recover and set out again after the period of rest. Our wonderful Faith also evokes similar feelings in us, that make us want to come back to it again and again.
I have tried to relate running with our beautiful Catholic faith in this article Participating in every Mass is such a beautiful experience, and you might want to integrate running (or even walking to start with) on the way to and from Mass. ( Of course, to get really fit during this, you might want to consider attending daily Mass!) What are you waiting for? Leave your car or two wheeler at home. Lace up your shoes now and run to church! It will also help you contribute to the environment by not using the vehicle, thereby reducing carbon pollution. Once you get there, please send up a prayer to St Sebastian , the Patron Saint of Runners , and I also leave you with the Runners Prayer:
The Runner's Prayer
“Lord, Watch over me today as I run.
This is the day and this is the time for the race.
Watch over my body. Keep it free from injury.
Watch over my mind. May I listen to the signals from within
as I enjoy the scenes from without.
Watch over my spirit. Watch over my competitors.
Remind us that we all are struggling equally.
Lord, Let me win.Not by coming in ahead of my friends, but by beating myself.
Let it be an inner win.A battle won over me.And may I say at the end,
"I have fought a good fight.I have finished the race.I have kept the faith."
Adapted from The Ultrarunner’s Prayer by Carolyn Erdman & Jay Hodde