Still in the Race 

Passionate Endurance 

I’m a passionate endurance athlete, and this story comes from my participation in the 2019 Hamburg IRONMAN. It was my seventh IRONMAN attempt at achieving my goal of qualifying for the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. If something unexpected happens in a competition, I always use my own checklist to refocus:  

Where am I?  

What do I have?  

What can I do?  

What’s next?  

It is important to answer these questions clearly and without emotion. In this case, I assessed my situation. First, I have completed 3.8k, cycled 180k, ran 20k and only needed to travel 22km to the finish line. Second, I have no more severe pain and I am okay overall. Third, reduce my running pace, refuel at every refreshment station, and never give up. Fourth, run one kilometer after the other towards my destination.  

That One Thing

Each of us certainly has that one thing in life that hurts, screams, distracts, or calls for attention. What knee-pain might be to one runner – alcohol or an unhealthy relationship – is something else to another. It is mostly the one thing that paralyses or hinders us from moving forward to finally reach our goals and dreams or to have the relationship that God intended for us to have. 

Unfortunately, the enemy also knows what our weakness is and always starts right there. 

Know Your Enemy

I like this verse because it says what we should do, which is to be sober and watchful. How quickly do you fall into emotions, let yourself be pulled down, and distracted from the actual goal? 

A number of things raced through my head during my competition. “Now I can’t qualify for Hawaii, it was all in vain, I can give up right now, then at least I’ll save myself from the pain of defeat…you must keep moving forward, and take one step at a time.” 

For God it isn’t about winning, He wants us to be overcomers. God gave us everything with his Son, Jesus. With his victory on the cross, Jesus conquered the world. He is the ultimate overcomer (John 16:33). And, we as his children can share in this victory! With Him by our side, we too can be overcomers. (“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37)

And we don’t have to do it alone, we can forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. We can press towards the goal (Philippians 3:13-14). He promises us in his Word that he will complete what he started in us (Philippians 1:6).  

Starter and Finisher

As the clock showed 10 hours and 5 minutes, I ran over the finish line. I earned the seventh Ironman “finisher” that day. At 44 years old, and in spite of the setback, I achieved my fastest time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to qualify for the World Championship, but I learned an important lesson that day. God wasn‘t interested in a trophy. It was more important to Him that I honor my commitment, that I lead my children by showing them not to give up when things seem tough, that I finish the run that I started. “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” Proverbs 24:16.  

I will hold on to my dream of qualifying for the IRONMAN world championship and, God willing, I will make my eighth attempt in the future. It doesn’t matter how many times we ‘fail’ as long as we don’t give up. As long as we remain ‘in the race’. 

Michael Jordan, one of the best Basketball players of all time, summed up his missed opportunities like this, “In my career I have messed up over 9,000 shots. I lost almost 300 games. My team trusted me 26 times to hit the last winning basket and I missed. I’ve failed again and again. And that’s why I succeed.” 

With this in mind, I would like to encourage you to not give up and keep going. God is with you, hold fast to Jesus in all your circumstances and challenges. He wants to help you be an overcomer. Remember, as a child of God, you are always on the winning team. With Him, you are a winner! 

Related Articles