One of our country’s most prolific contemporary writers is Joyce Carol Oates. She is the author of some 58 novels (many of them nominated for prestigious literary prizes), plus several plays and collections of short stories. What is the secret of her success? Running. In at least three different interviews, she has referenced running as her hidden muse. “Running seems to allow me an expanded consciousness, in which I can envision what I am writing as a film or a dream. I rarely invent at the typewriter, but recall what I saw when I was running.” On another occasion she said, “I often find that the solution to a problem I am facing in the form that the story should take will be found on a run, or at the end of a run, or coming back from a run; whereas if I stayed home at my desk, I wouldn’t get it.” Another time, she shared that running has been part of her life since childhood. “Running is when I do a lot of my writing—in my head. When I was a girl and I lived on a small farm, some nights I couldn’t sleep, and I would go outside in the light of the moon and run along our long driveway. There was such a feeling of some strange romance, smelling the fresh air—it was almost unspeakably exciting and beautiful. Now I run in my neighborhood. There is a country road that goes up a hill. And when I run up that hill, I feel that there will be ideas waiting for me. It’s like they’re waiting for me up in that place. So I run up there. If I just sat in a room, it wouldn’t be the same things.

There is also a spiritual dimension to running, which runners experience in different ways. The discipline we develop training for a marathon is the same discipline we need to be disciples of Christ. If we only go for a run when we feel like it, when we are not too tired, when the weather is pleasant, when we don’t have a long day ahead of us, when we didn’t stay out too late the night before, when we don’t have guests from out of town, we will be in no shape to run 26 miles. So it is that if we only practice out faith when it is convenient or when we feel like it, we will be in no shape for the kingdom of heaven. Christian writer Mary Carter points out that “in the Bible, running represents endurance, perseverance, and the pursuit of God’s will. Hebrews 12:1 says, ‘Let us run with perseverance the race marked out before us.’ This verse encourages believers to stay focused on their faith, to throw off distraction, and to keep moving forward. The race of faith is not a sprint, but a marathon, requiring patience and determination.”

Mary Carter also comments on the sometimes perplexing passage in Isaiah: “They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not grow faint.” “This verse reminds believers that God gives strength to the weary. When life feels overwhelming, God provides the energy to keep going. Running on human strength alone leads to burnout, but running with God’s strength brings endurance and renewal. Trusting in the Lord allows believers to keep moving forward, no matter how difficult the race becomes.” Or, as runner and Episcopalian priest Jim Friedrichs writes, “The perpetual context between weariness and perseverance is familiar to every athlete and every saint. You’re going to get discouraged. You may faint and fall. But keep your eye on the prize. Hold on.” And Katie Talarico comments, “Every time I run, I’m reminded of the Scripture verse about running the race set before us. It’s long, It’s hard. It builds our strength. It’s got hills and valleys that are more or less difficult to run through. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but we have the assurance that God is there running the race with us.”

The bottom line is that running is about a lot more than running, and those who run marathons have a lot to teach the rest of us who only run when someone is chasing us. Although our usual traffic patterns are thrown into chaos by the Marathon, it is still a fabulous weekend in Chicago. Approximately 45,000 runners from over 100 countries typically descend upon downtown Chicago.  About a fourth of those runners are raising money for a charity, and last year charity runners raised $36 million dollars. The Marathon would not happen without the 12,000 volunteers from some 200 volunteer groups who provide support in so many ways. And then there are the cheering spectators who help keep runners running when they do feel weary—not unlike the “cloud of witnesses,” the saints, described in the Letter to the Hebrews as cheering us on to eternal life.  This weekend at our Saturday Vigil Mass we welcome runners and offer them our blessing .  . . . and, we might add, our admiration.

                                                      Fr. Joe