I thought that it would be quite an easy run. But by the twenty-something kilometre, my legs cried out in agonizing pain…

The 42.195 kilometre run was my first marathon in my entire life. And I must confess that I have gone through anything worse or more torturing than what I went through today. Even all the push-up and other torturous punishments dealt to me last time during Scout meetings in secondary school were put to shame today.

To put it simply: The marathon was very very challenging. More mind than body in the race. To finish it was, to me, to conquer new territory. Thankfully, I did manage to cross the finish line. Even now as I type, my legs were aching so badly. After the race, I had serious trouble trying to walk straight or climb the stairs. I suspect that I would not even be able to walk at all tomorrow. =(

But what was most interesting in the marathon today was not the fact that I finished the 42.195km race in 4 hours and 50 minutes, and received an exclusive finisher’s T and a medal. Something else made the race more worthwhile and more meaningful.

I actually attached a tag behind me throughout the whole race on which a verse from the Bible-Philippians 4:13- was written. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” So when runners run behind me, they would be able to see this tag of mine which also carries the picture of a cross and the words “Jesus Loves You.” At first, the race started without anything off-beat. As I ran eventually I would hear a man reading out the whole verse behind me (it was audible to me but I pretended to take no notice) and ended off his recitation by saying “Jesus Loves Me.” (I wrote “Jesus Loves You,” didn’t I?)

As I raced on, a man ran pass me and said, “Praise the Lord” to me. As I ran in front of another girl, she said, “Amen.” Also, I would encounter a man wore a shirt with the words “Powered by Jesus” in fluorescent orange colour, who became my moral supporter throughout the race (we constantly bumped into each other in the race, sometimes me leading and sometimes him) He approached me after seeing my tag and encouraged me. Further on, another man told me, “Great message.” Another guy told me, “Nice tag.” I really felt very encouraged in the faceless marathon of tens of thousands. God’s people was everywhere.

Which brings me to my point: In this race of life, we are never alone. There are always other Christians running alongside us to give us encouragement and moral support. Amen.

Needless to say, I was proud to have run today with my little tag tagging along behind me proclaiming the greatness of the Lord.