By R.D. Gallant On a trail in the beautiful mountains of Northern California, 26-year-old Jim Walmsley made a terrible mistake. Jim was running a race called the Western States 100. This race is known as one of the most famous and renowned ultra marathons in the entire world. Although being an accomplished runner, this was Jim’s first 100 mile race. As the day began, Jim crested over the first peak after climbing 2,500 feet and running 4.5 miles he was nearly 20 minutes ahead of his closest competitor. For the rest of the day, Jim set a blistering pace through the Sierra Nevada mountain range. At one point he even was running so fast that the aid stations meant to help provide for him didn’t even open by the time he reached them. Photo: Myke Hermsmeyer Jim held the lead in the race and maintained his pace for the first 93 miles of the course. He had built up a substantial lead but all of a sudden Jim vanished. Up until that point Jim was on pace to shatter the course record of 14 hours 46 minutes. After reaching mile 93, Jim stopped seeing course markers and he eventually arrived at the winding Highway 49. Eventually he realized that he had run a full 2 miles off the marked course. While 2 miles doesn’t seem like a lot, when you are running that fast and for that long, each step is filled with agonizing pain. By the time he realized his mistake his resolve was gone and he felt drained of all his energy. Jim was lost and he didn’t know what to do. Photo: Myke Hermsmeyer As Jim was preparing to run the hardest 7 miles of his life, he was unable to clearly see where he was supposed to go. His race had begun with an incredible start but Jim was unable to complete his amazing accomplishment because he had not planned correctly. Most runners in the race, after reaching the point of near complete exhaustion choose to run with a pacer. Pacers are able to help you along the journey by leading you in the path you should go. They can also provide encouragement when every step is filled with pain. Jim got lost, missed out on setting a new course record, and barely finished the race because he had not planned according to the struggles he knew he was going to face. Photo: Myke Hermsmeyer Our lives can be a lot like the 100 mile race that Jim was running. There are twists and turns, ups and downs. After a while, it can be easy to get exhausted, discouraged, and even lost. There are two ways we can plan so that we don’t fail. In Proverbs 3:5-6 the bible says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” When we are planning in life, if we trust God to give him our whole hearts, not lean on our own navigation, He will make the journey easier for us. Secondly, Jesus also says in Luke 9:23, “And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” If we plan to follow Jesus then He will make sure that we are able to bear the load and complete our journey. As we have begun our 12 week training plan, lets plan to trust God with our mind, heart and body and follow Jesus wherever He may lead us.
1 Comment
Bonnie Iversen
2/14/2020 07:22:32 pm
Thanks, RD (Gallant)! Very inspiring!
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