Either you are in the race or you’re not?

See, this weekend as thousands of people ran in the OKC Memorial Marathon, some ran the entire thing, all 26 miles. Some just half, others did it in teams of 4 -6 people. There were even some who signed up just for the 5k walk. They were even taking sign ups till the last minute. So you ask how I did. Well I didn’t run in the Marathon. Yes I’ve run a lot in my day especially when I was in the Army. But I was there at 6:30am when it started supporting friends and family who ran. I started out at mile marker 3 so many people I was supporting saw me way before I saw them. I even saw people I had no clue ran marathons. I even saw people who I didn’t think could run a marathon. Everyone had a different running style, outfit, and accessories from the fancy $300 shoes to people running in the old school converse chucks.
I felt like a storm chaser calling my mom to see where the next spot was and we would race to the next spot to cheer on those running in the grueling race. Trying to keep up with runners is not as easy as you would think. See you’re not in the race so you have to navigate through roads that are blocked for the race and people who are confused as to what is going on because they have no idea it’s a marathon that runs thru 26 miles of the city. It’s an event in itself. As you move along the route the crowd thins out and it’s no longer the sea of runners that it once was. The leaders are way in front and some have already started to turn back and walk. Others are at med station being looked at because something hurt or they are dehydrated by mile 6.
Reaching mile 13 the half way mark and you can see it in their faces; it’s the look of “I’m half way there”. More people are starting to slow down and walk, stop and stretch out cramps. Then you have people that are removing layers of clothing to beat the heat and worse yet a 25-30 mile wind has just started to kick in. Yet the leaders are still moving a great pace. At mile 16 people who where in front of others are now behind people who look much more capable. Those doing it in relays have switched up and are flying by those who are running the whole thing. You can here the ambulance rushing in for those who need help.
I’ve got to keep moving so I can see those I know. We rush over to mile 20 just 6 miles out and there are those who have conceded that they are not going to be able to finish and those who you could not tear away for the race. We cheer on those who we don’t even know because they could use every bit of encouragement. You see the lady you saw at mile 16 who was in horrible pain is even worse now but she is not giving up. To the man at mile 3, I looked and thought there’s no way he is going to make it. You want to see everyone finish strong.
Now it’s time to race to the finish line so you can see friends and family cross the line. See it’s pretty crowded at the finish line; everyone wants to see who crosses first. But it’s been at least an hour since the first place fished in fewer than 2 ½ hours; faster than most of half the marathon. Then here come your friends and family tired and exhausted but crossing the line like they just started the race because they did it; they ran 26.2 miles, a task that few people even attempt and even fewer complete. You yell there name, scream and let them know how proud you are because whether this was there first or 100th race it’s still an amazing accomplishment.
See you either in the race or you’re not. Yet a race is a lot more than just the runners it’s the organizers the police men and EMT that provide safety the volunteers that hand out water and snacks to the runners it’s the fans that cheer on the friends and family. It’s all these people working together for a successful race.
We all have our parts to play 1 Corinthians 12:12-26