Harriette and Her Race

This past weekend, Harriette Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina, completed the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego in 7 hours, 24 minutes, 36 seconds. And at 92, Harriet is the oldest woman ever to run a marathon, and nobody over 90 has ever run one faster.

According to Fox News, Harriette is a classically trained pianist who played three times at Carnegie Hall. She told reporters that she mentally plays old piano pieces she had performed to help her get through the 26.2 miles. (How many days of devotions could I get from that line?)

And about her first marathon - which she ran at the young age of 76 after a member of her church asked her to help raise money to fight cancer - she said, "When I got out there the first year I just planned to walk it, but everybody else was running so I started to run with them."

Wow. She planned to walk but ended up running and inspired generations because of it. Way to go Harriette. And oh, I almost forgot. She said that in her training regimen, she seldom runs more than 11 miles at a time. She saves it for the race.

-Jimmy Peña
 

For Discussion: The Bible says that life is a vapor that quickly fades. Here today, gone tomorrow. And yet, Paul encourages us to run the race we're living like we would a marathon. Call it divine irony. Life is a sprint that requires endurance. How inspiring is Harriette? (Who, by the way, has beaten cancer twice and lost her husband of 67 years to the disease.) How can we apply her example to our lives as believers, physically and spiritually?