SPORTS November 13, 2006 Issue

A MARATHON LESSON, COMPLETE WITH MEDAL

PAMELA GUTHMAN

IT WAS MILE 22 of my first marathon. Many of those running that day were less than half my age and had left me far behind on the course. The sun was setting, and I was having difficulty moving. I was walking at this point—and with great difficulty, because of a terrible shooting pain in my knee. But even though I appeared to be the last person out on the road, I wasn't thinking about calling it quits.

My heart dropped a bit when a friend of mine drove by. He leaned out of his car window to explain that he'd failed to complete the race. "Too much for me," he called. This was a double disappointment—not only was he my training partner, but he was also a friend who had shared many spiritual ideas with me during our runs together. "If he's given up, maybe I should," I thought.

But something deep inside me said to keep going. It wasn't willpower, but a conviction that I was not alone—that God was truly my source of endurance and power. "He really does make my way perfect," I assured myself (see II Sam. 22:33). I also love the way that passage continues: "He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places" (verse 34).