B19 Kentucky Derby Marathon

This is an exciting morning for me. Last year I had a crazy running goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I chose a race in Michigan as my first official marathon and my first opportunity to reach my goal.

I reached it… kind of…

Technically I needed to finish within 3 hours and 10 minutes in order to qualify to run in the Boston Marathon. I ran it in 3 hours and 7 minutes, which was my goal, so I thought for sure I would be accepted to run in Boston 2018.

Unfortunately, though I qualified, I was not accepted. The simplest explanation for this non-acceptance into the Boston Marathon is that although I ran fast enough to “qualify”, there were enough people out there who qualified with a faster time than mine to knock me out of the running.

That was a bummer.

But I have been back at it. I have been training harder, running faster, and setting my sights on the Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville, KY. That marathon is… today.

In less than 1 hour I will run across the start line with the plan of coming back across the finish line within 3 hours and 5 minutes. (Feel free to pray for me!)

I will once again be donning my Adidas Boston Boost “G.O.S.P.E.L.” shoes. Though I have a physical goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, I had an even bigger, spiritual goal of seeing God use my running to advance the Kingdom!

I wear my G.O.S.P.E.L. shoes as a constant reminder of what really matter. Those letter represent the most simple, and yet most significant truth in all of existence.

God created us to be with Him.

Our sins separate us from God

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds

Paying the price for sins, Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead.

Everyone who trust in Him alone will have eternal life.

Life with Jesus starts now and last forever!

One of my favorite parts of running is when someone notices the writing on my shoes and says, “Hey, what’s that all about?”

“I’m so glad you asked!! The answer to that question could change your life… and your eternity.”