Finish the course.

Acts 20:24
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race (course) and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."

Steve finished his race last weekend and made the comment that not everyone "ran the same course".

I found this interesting, because it was the same loop for the marathon, the 50 mile and the 100 mile. The marathon was one loop (one extremely tough brutal loop, I ran it last year), the 50 mile was two brutal loops, and the 100 was 4 brutal loops.

Steve said that even though it was single track (single file running), a narrow trail, people still didn't put their feet in the same places. Some weaved around rocks, some went over them, some walked over them.

Whether it was avoidance or straight through, it had a lot to do with knowledge of that trail, experience, and training.

There are people who run that trail weekly. There are people who have never seen it before.

There are people who train on like terrain. There are people who never train on this type of course.

What happens for those that are successful, they run it to their strength. Whether its familiarity, similarity, or just bulldogged determination, those that finish race all have this thing it's hard to put into words. The emotions the runners have when they finish is worth a case study.

One girl came in and said "I just want to sit down". One guy had to be helped to his lawn chair and his girlfriend took off his shoes and he rehashed the night hours with his friends and family.

Steve came in and sat down and wolfed down his Egg McMuffin and wanted a shower. His feet were blistered and sore. He was emotional after being up for 30 hard hours. But after his sandwich and shower and fresh clothes, he was a whole new person. Planning the next four races.

Whatever your course, you may choose to step in different places on the path.

But my biggest challenge right now in several areas is to finish my course. Some are marathons, some are sprints. I fail, I start over. I'd like to quit failing and finish.