Dead Sea Marathon

The Background

The Jordan Project has been a wonderful opportunity, and has been a long procession of firsts in my life:  first time overseas, first time living in a foreign country, first time working with special needs children; also first time to scuba dive, ride a camel, and, as of April 8th, to run a marathon.  A big part of the Jordan Project is leaving a legacy, both for the people we serve here and also for future volunteers.  So it was that I decided to follow in the footsteps (literally) of last year’s volunteers by competing in the Dead Sea Marathon.

Our neighborhood

When I started running a few years ago, I considered ultimately trying a marathon.  At the time, this was more of a life goal, a bucket list item that could take many years to realize.  However, after getting accepted to the project and learning that last year’s volunteers ran in the marathon, I was immediately ready to accept the challenge for myself.  Amber and I drew up a training chart, and I hit the neighborhood streets starting just after the Feast of Tabernacles.  Running the city streets was a bit intimidating at first, and I’m sure the locals got a kick out of watching the crazy American go by again and again, but it seems that we all got used to it after a while.  Training was sometimes quite boring and tedious (summoning the will power to put in the time is the hardest thing about the marathon), but its payoff in patience and endurance was easily worth it.  The more I ran, the more thankful I became for my health, strength, and ability to persevere, and race day arrive without any injuries or incidents on the road and with my confidence peaking. 

The Race

After grouping at the starting line, the countdown began.  The runners quickly split into 2 groups, with the faster and more experienced easily outpacing the rest.  I started out slow and at the back of the pack to help with pacing and to give me the opportunity to pass more people, which is a psychological boost.  Shortly after starting it actually began to sprinkle a bit, which wasn’t completely unwelcome, as it pushed back the sun and heat I knew I could expect for later in the day.  There was a long and gradual uphill stretch near the beginning of the race, and because I had trained extensively on the hills around our apartment, I took the opportunity to pass everyone in the slow group.  This put me in between the two groups, where I stayed for the duration of the race, gradually catching and passing others strung out in the middle.

It was the furthest I had ever run, and was not without difficulties.  Running downhill might save some energy, but it’s way harder on your feet, knees, and back.  From the downhill I got some temporary joint pain and one bloody toenail because of my feet sliding in my shoes.  My worst enemy on the route was the heat down in the valley, which made the last 10 km (8 mile) stretch of the race the worst.  The sun was out, the temperature was somewhere in the 80s °F, and there was no breeze.  This might not be too bad for some, but I don’t sweat much, so I had to use most of the water from the watering stations for dousing instead of drinking.  In order to hold off the possibility of heat stroke in the home stretch, I went into running and walking alternately; I probably walked 2 to 2½ miles of the last 6.  Also, after the 10 km mark, the road was so clogged with 5000 or so school-age kids that were walking the 10 km fun run, that I had to weave around them as I went; also, the crowds reduced the visibility (which had previously been miles) to less than ½ a mile.

9 km to go!

Shortly before the 2 km marker I began running for the last time, and soon passed Amber, who was doing the mini-marathon with some of the kids from our school.  I had seen her when the bus drove by me taking them to their starting line, almost an hour before, so I was kind of surprised.  As I ran passed, she told me she thought we were less than a kilometer from the finish so I picked up my pace a bit.  After a couple minutes I realized that she had been a little off, but I was definitely nearing the end, so I didn’t allow myself to stop.  Also, as I came within sight of the finish line, a man I had been neck and neck with during my walk/run period passed me; not wanting to be beaten, I pulled out all the stops and ran to catch up.  We crossed the line almost simultaneously, he on the right and I on the left.  Official results for my time – 4:07:49.

After crossing, I had my tracking chip removed, grabbed an apple to munch and a water to drink, and waited for Amber to catch up.  She and the kids from the YMWA were so excited to see me, and I them; however, by this time I was completely drained, and the rush of excitement could only overcome so much of the deficit.  After some time to rest, I made my way on wobbly knees to the bus and went with the kids to a local restaurant, and then it was back to Amman to start my recovery.

End of the marathon: the Dead Sea

Reflection

One of the best things about doing the marathon was the lessons it taught me, things which I had lots of time to contemplate and meditate on during my many long runs.  I’ll share some of those here with you. 

One definition of a marathon is “something (as an event, activity, or session) characterized by great length or concentrated effort.”  Indeed, the marathon can be seen as a type of the struggle of life, and especially for the Christian life.  Running as an analogy for the Christian life, of course, has been popular since the earliest times – phrases like “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1) are very much a part of the Christian tradition. The bible often uses types and symbols to help us better understand spiritual concepts, and this is a great example.  The marathon, like life, is a long and often arduous journey.  Like life, it is not a sprint, and can only be completed through much effort; the trials and hardships experienced during it cannot be predicted ahead of time; it requires planning and timing, patience and endurance.

This analogy works well in the general sense, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it works even better in a more specific sense.  Specifically, the marathon symbolizes any major trial that stretches us to the limits of our endurance.  Just as a runner can participate in many marathons in the course of a lifetime, so, too, might a Christian have to overcome many difficult trials.  The keys to finishing these figurative marathons are the same as those for real ones: preparation and determination.  The first part of this is having and maintaining the proper equipment.  For a runner, these are shirt, shorts, and a trusty pair of shoes.  Modifying the list found in Ephesians 6 for the running analogy, our essential equipment might be the shorts of truth, the shirt of righteousness, and the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace, etc.  It might sound funny, but its fair!  Another crucial factor is training.  Runners diligently follow a program of small runs, building up gradually to race day.  Likewise, Christians build the character and endurance to overcome large trials through the small trials and setbacks of life.  Making the most out of these small, often daily tests strengthens us spiritually so we can confidently endure the larger ones that come along less frequently.  An additional aspect is maintaining proper nutrition, both before and during the race.  For a Christian, this is a healthy diet of the word of God and staying hydrated with the Holy Spirit.  Without these, our strength doesn’t last long, and we come far short of reaching our goal.

Our goal in the specific sense is to successfully overcome our trials, becoming ever stronger through them.  And in the general sense, our goal is nothing less than eternal life in the very family of God.  Concerning this goal, notice what the Apostle Paul says.  “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown” (1 Cor 9:24-25).  May God bless us all with the strength and perseverance to make it to our goal!

~ Darren Henke