'Running with perseverance' - Weekly Reflection 2nd May 2026

On Saturday last (1^st May) I went out for a run.  I have been running for 48 years now, not very fast or very far. After completing the London Marathon in 1983 I knew that running a full marathon was to much of a stretch for me and settled into running half marathons.

They provide enough of a challenge without a massive overreach.  My ten-mile run on Saturday took me 2:00:41. That is slower than the winner of this year’s London Marathon, covering 26 miles. And not one, but two athletes broke the two-hour barrier.  Sawe came in at 1:59:30 and Kejelcha came in at 1:59:41. Remarkably in 1908 Johnny Hayes broke the three-hour barrier at 2:55:18. The massive development in training, nutrition, understanding biology and shoe technology have made what at one time seemed impossible, possible.

It will probably come as no surprise that one my favourite Bible verse is Hebrews 12:1-3.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Today in Church we had a young family visiting us. Mum was currently following the training programme ‘Couch to 5k.’ Couch to 5K is a simple, free running plan for absolute beginners endorsed by the NHS. The plan has you running 3 times a week, with rest days in between and a fresh schedule to follow each week.

By the end, people should be able to run 5K with confidence, no matter their starting fitness level or when they last exercised. Couch to 5K was created by a new runner, Josh Clark, who wanted to help his 50-something mum get off the couch and start running too!

I checked myself from saying that for 5K is hardly worth the effort of putting on the trainers! Unless I am seriously out of sorts running three miles takes very little effort. But that is because I have been running since 1978 and my body is used to this.  In the same way for those who do run incredible distances and at an unbelievable pace, they can do so because of training.

When writing to the Corinthains Paul obviously had the Greek Athletic Games in mind when he wrote….

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the game’s trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. Therefore, I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air.… 1 Cor.9.24-26

A question for us to ponder. How good are we at embracing a ‘strict discipline’ when it comes to living the life of the Faith?  How much time do we spend taking a deep dive into the Scripture’s? How much time do we spend in prayer and how much time do we spend with other ‘athletes’ encouraging each other, especially those who have just got off the couch and recently embraced the Christian faith?

Today at St Oswald’s was our first All Age Worship since our Vicars, Alan and Jane retired and we moved into vacancy.  Appropriately we focussed on the calling of Jeremiah. See Jeremiah 1:4ff.

We reflected together that God knows us and loves us, that we are all called to serve God by serving each other, that God calls and equips and gives us all we need to do what God is asking us to do, and that God is always with us and will not leave us.

Back to the young family visiting us this morning and dad wasn’t a runner but keen on sports, in particular football. Shifting the focus from running to football reminds of a comment made some years ago, that our Churches often look a bit like a football match, several thousands of people in need of exercise watching twenty-two people in need of a rest!

Have you heard the story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done, and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realised that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  Jeremiah 1:5

Okay, you may not be called to be a prophet to the nations, but we all have unique calling, we all have a special gifting, we all have a part to play.

Michel Quoist in his book ‘The Christian Response’ writes, ‘You are a unique and irreplaceable actor in the drama of human history, and Jesus Christ has need of you to make known his salvific work present in this particular place, at this particular moment in history.’

Attributed to Augustine of Hippo is the phrase “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.”

Think about that for a moment. If that be true, then by our not running the race set before us and designed especially for us, we are in danger of frustrating the plans of God for the redemption of the cosmos.

Now, where are my trainers!

https://youtu.be/HzP6Mx3CiMM?si=8LC1iPZx2pI2z_Zt