Fast Running Blog

You are definitely not the only one.  I would surmise many of us here on the blog feel the same way, and if you want to look at a high-profile runner, look at Ryan Hall and his wife, Sara.  Every interview they give, every article they write, they mention somewhere how running allows them to glorify God.  Regardless of how well he does at the Olympics, and whether his wife makes the Olympic team in either the 1500 or 5000, they will both be my heroes for unashamedly giving glory to God for their talents and using them to benefit others as well.

I absolutely agree.  There is something about pushing and taking care of the body God gave us that makes running a spiritual experience.  I love the sunrises, mountains and being able to be experience something that no one else does at that exact moment.   Until I started running I took for granted the beauty of this area and my health.  Running has brought new gratitude for the gifts of our Father in Heaven.

I have to agree. Back in high school I had this discussion with my pastor. In the other states I've lived (IL and MO) Sunday is the main long run day for everyone and that would often conflict with church. However, my argument was that what better way to get closer to God than to spend time with Him in His creation. The answer I got back of course was that most runs aren't spent in devotional to God. However, I will say I've had many a good conversation about the existence of God and the general concept of faith during a run. Also, to answer your question to get out there and enjoy the world, the animals, the sunny days, or starry mornings/nights, the strength and wonder of our bodies does have its place in my weekly spiritual time. I think that is one of the reasons why I still run on Sundays...

Agreed with Adam. Running is an excellent time for prayer and meditation.

Work in general is a form of worship. Running is a form of work. You push your body to the limit, and discover something special, something nobody will understand unless they've experienced it. However, work of this kind is not the only form of worship. We also worship through music, by partaking of the sacrament, and by attending Sunday School. And we need to rest as well. There needs to be a balance. That is why God gave us six days to labor and one day to rest.

and naps. Don't forget naps.

This very topic has been rattling about in my brain for the past couple of weeks. There are several forms of moving meditation used in many different cultures but meditating while running would certainly not work for me while running alongside traffic on even small residential streets.

I do find myself much more reflective and thoughtful on my runs. Being outdoors where I can see wildlife and the landscape often triggers such feelings for me. On occasion I run by the local cemetery and this of course gives me reasons to reflect on ancestors and the natural cycle of life. All good things for mature man to consider as he tries to improve his health.

I occasionally run through the local cemetary where several of my great grandparent, an uncle, and a few other relatives are buried.  It certainly lends itself to introspection.

Jon, I have to agree about the cemetary runs. I haven't done that in awhile but used to regularly. Something about them does lend itself to spiritual thought. I used to do all my cycling in cemetaries as well (as it was one of the few "safe" places in the Chicago southside) and it was one of the most calming experiences.

I find that running is a pretty good balance of what my spirituality should be.  Running can be a form of obligation because it's hard to get out there every day, or just that it's not pure pleasure every time (or even most of the time) but there is a joy that comes from the discipline of it.  Most things in life are a balance of obligation and reward.  Spiritually as I learn from God through my life cirumstances, His word, and His people I can truly have a spirituality where doing the things I know I should, relying on God completely by faith, loving my neighbor as myself can all truly be a passion and a life character.

Having a spiritual breakthrough is like a new PR, you can train for it, plan it, and give your best effort but God is ultimately in control.  Ecclesiastes says time and chance happens to everyone, the race is not to the swift.  This is the practical application of the reality of life.   

Lately I have been running on a trail that goes alongside a cemetary here in town.  Although I often do more reflection during this short leg of the run, there was one particular day that I was hit hard.  I would even say that it impacted me for the entire rest of the run and continues to do so when I think back on it (like now).  To make a long story short, I ran by at the same time that one of the cemetary workers was digging a grave.  The thing that hit me the hardest was when I realized that the hole was only about one foot wide and no more than about two feet long.  Like I said before, it was a time of serious reflection for me.

I find it interesting that most people on this blog would say that they feel closer to God through their running. At the same time, most people also refrain from running on Sundays for the same or similar reasons cited by Sasha.

However, I also suspect that a majority of those who won't run on Sunday still watch football on Sunday or participate in other similar activities, which is entertaining, but highly unlikely to bring one closer to God. Why the discrepancy? Not sure, but I suspect peer pressure.

As one of the outliers, I will explain my reasoning. I work a lot and only get a limited amount of free time to run, spend with my family, etc. Most of this free time is on the weekend. Therefore I like putting in my miles on the weekend when I have a chance. If I have 12 hours of free time on Sunday, why use that day to rest my body when I might only have 2 hours of free time on Firday. If I run on Friday I just used up any time I might have spent on that day with my family. Isn't it better to wisely use my limited free time than to half-heartedly follow the traditional "day of rest". This may sound like justification, but I honestly would have otherwise just been watching football anyway. 

I do not watch football on Sundays or ever for that matter. I would say a slow jog goes along with the concept of the Sabbath better than watching sports. But I do not do it for several reasons:

* It is good to have a scheduled day of rest for the body, six days shalt thou labor, and on the seventh shalt thou rest
* A slow relaxing jog for me might be heavy exercise for the spectator, therefore I might be teaching what I did not mean to teach
* I need time for family, church work, and a nap.

I think that I perhaps left out the most important reason. The Sabbath needs to feel special, different from other days. There needs to be a spirit of reverence, a spirit of worship. For me not running on that day contributes to that spirit. Any other day I do what it takes to make my run (or two) happen - get up at 4:30 AM, run errands of foot, run in the rain, run in the heat, push a stroller, run around the block, run late at night after a long day, hardly any sacrifice is too big if it makes a difference between running and not running. On Sunday it is the opposite. I would sacrifice the Olympic race even if I knew that I had a solid chance to win. This helps me feel special about that day.

I agree with Sasha's reasoning, I'm just not that dedicated. Few, if any, of us are.

My generalizations towards football were not intended to incluse Sasha, whom I know would not be watching football of Sunday. Probably not Saturday either. 

This probably goes to a whole other topic--the idea of the Sabbath day, but I find it interesting that the Sabbath is the only one of the 10 commandments that wasn't repeated in the New Testament.  I do agree with the principle of work and rest, in fact, I think taking long-term sabbaticals is healthy (just wish this was allowed and recognized in our culture).  I can't help but be surprised by Jesus' and what he always did on the Sabbath--he healed many people on the Sabbath (which of course was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath).  In fact, he seemed to do this on purpose so it would be a stumblingblock for the religious leaders and debaters.  It seems the Sabbath can be a ritual that is actually a stumblingblock to one's real relationship with God.  Every day should be a spiritual day where one can commune and relate and learn from God the Father. 

Jesse - I think the issue is very much on topic.

I agree that if you just read the Bible, it is not clear how the law of the Sabbath given to Jews would apply after the coming of Christ. Fortunately God has called prophets in the last days just like he did in the old times who have the understanding and the authority to teach the Gospel. They have helped restore the truths that have been lost through the centuries of apostasy, and the correct understanding of the law of the Sabbath is one of them. The new Sabbath day is to be observed on a Sunday, which is the day of Christ's resurrection, and it is to be a special day when we do not do many noble and worthwhile things we would on other days.

Interestingly enough, the word for Sunday in Russian is the same as the word for resurrection. So the entire time while the Communists tried to suppress religion, they had a huge problem to deal with - they could not change the way people spoke via a decree. With Russian being a language of derivation where big words are formed from simple parts, even though I had absolutely no religious background or education, I knew that the word for Sunday had something to do with rising from the dead.

Sasha, the reasoning behind the Russian word for Resurrection is most likely the same as other euro languages (such as spanish or italian), which, of course, you probably already know.

Comparing Jewish week/standard week, the Sabbath (end of the week) falls on what would be Saturday (sabato), with Sunday being the first day of the week, called the Lord's Day (dominica, domingo, etc). Which correlates with the day of Christ's ressurection (John 20:1).

Using terms such as the First Day, or the Lord's day, you can find references in the New Testament where Christ's disciples began to meet together to observe the sacrament and preach together, honoring Christ. (Acts 20:7 for example).

Outside of this, the transistion from Saturday to Sunday as the new day of worship and as the day to observe holy is not explicitly written out in the New Testament, which has led to many Saturday worship services being held by different church organizations.

I'd imagine things would be a little different if Christ or Peter had stood up, said "hey everyone, Sunday is the new Sabbath day, and you need to honor it by not doing such and such...etc"  But, since the world is much different today, much of what they may have said (like don't work your ox) may not be as relevant or useful anyways.

This then leaves the matter open to intrpretation among those who currently consider Sunday the Sabbath day spoken of in the commandments and decide to honor it how they see fit. However, it definitely does help one see the benefit of having current divine leadership, as then these matters could then be understood clearly and correctly, and we wouldn't deal so much in "sheep falling into a pit" interpretations.

Amen, Sasha.  I find that running is a way to bring me closer to my Heavenly Father on the other six days of the week.  Spiritual edification shouldn't be reserved just for the Sabbath.  But, on the Sabbath, it does need to be a bit different.

I must admit that I put a spin on Visiting Teaching last Sunday.  I started a Visiting Teaching on Wheels program!  We went bike riding and talked about many things, including our favorite scriptures!!!  Biking seems so much easier than running sometimes!

  :)

I agree with Sasha. Sunday should be a day off from running. It might seem like not running every day would hurt you, but the benefits of not running on Sunday plenty outweigh the drawbacks.

Now we'd really go to a different topic.  As a traditional Christian believing only the Bible, I would have problems with the authority of any Scripture other than the Bible (especially when it adds to or takes from the Bible), modern prophets who have the authority to change what Christians have believed for 2000 years, the idea that Christ's church which was promised to prevail against the gates of hell would fall into apostasy, and that we need to adopt a neo-jewish position on anything since the 613 laws of the Torah were fulfilled in Christ and specifically purposed to show the Holiness of God the Father and that we are unable and unwilling to live up to that perfect standard.  (For those of you writers out there, I recognize I just wrote one long-winded sentence, sorry.) 

That being said, I do think that there is a big difference between the idea of Sabbath-day end of the week rest and Lord's day beginning of the week anticipation.   I like having a day where I worship Christ, prepare myself for the week, meet with fellow believers, and rest.  I do find it sometimes contradictory though to do so much on a Sunday if I'm supposed to be resting.  Am I resting or am I doing?

I think this is the right question. I think you need to have a balance between the two. Are you doing so many other things that you forget the purpose of the Sabbath? Are you taking the rest too far and just being lazy on the couch all day? 

Jesus taught that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. James taught that pure religion was to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions. If you are using that day to further His work, relfect and renew your relationship with Him and His children through service, fellowship, or study, then that is good work to do and that can be very restful and refreshing at the same time.

Also, as per the running on Sunday question, I have often considered it. Some say you can go out and use the time to appreciate God's creations and worship through running. Others say it takes your mind off of what is really important. I just don't do it because I know that I can benefit each week from a rest day, and that if I were to run every day, I would get pretty sick of so many continous days of running in a row. I could probably take it for only a few months. I always like that every week is a completely new week of running.