"1 Kings 19:11 - The Lord
said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the
Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and
shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After
the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake
came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle
whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out
and stood at the mouth of the cave."
It is
the gentle whisper, the still small voice were one finds God. For me; like
many; the hustle & bustle of our world make it difficult to hear this
gentle whisper. There are so many things that pull & tug us in all
different directions that we do not have time to quite ourselves, to have time
with our God who is within us always.
Running
the popular 5k or 10k race in town may be a time to turn within, but often
times it is too short of a time & there are still too many distractions.
When I got in to ultra distance
running (I.e. distances longer than the 26.2 mile marathon), I often found
myself alone with no other runners around me. As I run at quite a slow pace,
most of the other runners are long ahead of me. Since many ultra marathons are
run on trails, running alone results in my being out on some long country
gravel road or in the forest or out in the prairie for hours on end. To give
you some feel for the time aspect, most 100 mile runs have a 30-hour cut off
time. This means that I have 30 hours within which to complete the 100-mile
run. Most races start early on a Saturday morning; run all day, all through the
night & into the next day often finishing around 2:00 PM on Sunday.
It is
during the long stretches of running alone at night where this “gentle
whisper”, this “small voice” can be heard. THIS is the time when I commune with
God & HE with me. No hustle & bustle, no traffic or blaring music, no
e-mails to check, just quiet darkness. The crunching of my feet on the ground,
the cool night air, the rustle of the leaves in the breeze all work in a
symphony to create that perfect environment for God, the Almighty Creator of
All, to be heard. When I am running at night, alone, with no other person to
talk to, God & I have the most wonderful conversations. HE shows me the
real me, allows me to know the Real God.
When I
am tired & thinking of giving up, HE encourages me & lets me know that
HE is with me & strengthening me every step of the way. HE knows that
whatever suffering that I am going through is offered up for others & for
the souls in Purgatory. I am aware that my suffering is self-induced, but
none-the-less, I still offer it up for others. I am thankful for my ability to
do this as my “quiet time with God” is indescribable & intoxicating.
Why do I
run ultras you ask?
To spend
quality time with My Lord.
Know No Boundaries has taken on the challenge of running the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Endurance Run in Houston on January 31, 2015 in efforts to raise money to help Henry & his family. Our goals, is to get at least 100 people to donate $100. All donations are Tax Deductible as Know No Boundaries is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit foundation. Donations can be made on our website at the top of the Main page; www.knownoboundaries.org. 
