“I started running faster and faster”

In high school, I ran a lot of laps around the track. For me running was—and still is—a proving ground for Christian Science. I have experienced many healings while running and competing. 

During the spring of my senior year, my coaches decided to enter me in three events for the state qualifying meet: the 800-meter, the 1600-meter, and the 4-x-800-meter relay. While I’d had plenty of practice running the relay and the 1600, this meet would mark only my third or fourth time competing in the open 800-meter run. 

I attended a high school for Christian Scientists, and one of the ways our coaches supported us was by drawing upon some of the foundational ideas of Christian Science as they related to running. For example, God is infinite, and we are individual expressions of God. So our team would often talk about how it was actually natural for each of us to express qualities of God—such as infinite energy, endurance, poise, grace, strength, and so on—rather than to be limited by personal abilities. Our coaches made these ideas practical by sharing stories of former runners who overcame limitations through their understanding of God.