The Marathon Part 2

 

THE RACE IS NOT TO THE SWIFT... (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

...BUT HE THAT ENDURES TO THE END SHALL BE SAVED 

(Matthew 10:22)

For a period of three weeks preceding the races, sessions were held to provide valuable insights about the race.  These insights included such aspects as race equipment, race obstacles, race strategy and map reading skills.  Among the equipment runners needed was the map of the course.  This was given to every competitor just minutes before the start of the race.  The sessions were conducted by former marathon winners.  It was felt that these made the best instructors since their experience was one of success.  Needless to say, these sessions were very poorly attended.  As a result, very few competitors received the necessary information that was of paramount importance for a successful attempt of this event.

Nathaniel consulted his map for the third time.  He felt quietly confident.  Though this was his first attempt at this test of endurance, he felt as though he had actually competed in the event before.  There was a peculiar peace and calm about him.  Like Simon, he also was seventeen years.  He had a moderate measure of success in athletics, nothing to compare with Simon, however.  Nevertheless, he was aware that this fifteen hundred metres of smooth going was not the end of the race.  His familiarity with his map showed him that up ahead there were many obstacles as well as difficult terrain that would sap his energy and test his mental powers.  Though he could not see Simon or the lead bunch, he knew the race was far from over.  Like Simon, he had trained hard, but unlike Simon, he had attended the pre-race sessions.  Even now, he was not ashamed to be in the backpack, running with a number of older runners and competitive females.  As he ran he had some encouraging words for those with whom he ran.  "Don't despair," he counselled them, 'the winners enclosure’ is big enough for all of us.  Age or sex is not a significant factor here but a determination to compete and to complete."

Well, Simon and several others like himself were just revelling in these conditions.  Perhaps they had either forgotten or were not aware that the beginning of any marathon was the easiest part.  Any novice could begin fast.  But would just any novice last?  This certainly would not apply to Simon.    Simon may have been a novice to this race but he had a wealth of experience generally.  In addition, most of his contemporaries were of the opinion that he was naturally gifted.  He often boasted of it anyway.  A gifted person does not need pre-race sessions of instruction.  He doesn't need older people telling him how they had run the course successfully.  Which of them could boast of a record like his any way?  "Yes, yes," he thought, "I'll show them!"

  

Nathaniel, on the other hand remembered what his instructor had drilled in his head over and over.  "The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong."  They pumped in the minds of those who saw it necessary to attend, just eight in number.  'This race is not about the physically strong but the mentally strong.  It is not about the naturally quick but the patiently enduring."  It is not a test of genius but a test of courage."

The course map was an interesting piece of equipment.  It was not just an ordinary map but at certain points in fine print, there were words of encouragement and statements of counsel.  One could be so caught up merely with the course that one either totally ignored the counsel or paid scant attention to the same.  It was there on the map nevertheless.   What the competitors did with it was totally up to them.

Simon now knew the route probably better than anyone else.  From the moment he received his course map he started to memorize the course.  Halfway through, he knew every twist and turn, every climb, every slope and every cul-de-sac.  I might add here, there were several cul-de-sacs.  It was not unusual for a competitor to go along a path he thought was correct, only to find it ended in a cul-de-sac.  It was highly unlikely for this to happen to Simon.  He knew the course like no one else.  Well, so he thought.

By this time the field was well strung out.  The apparent strong far ahead, the not so strong some distance back and the others plodding along as if they were not aware they were contesting a race.  The audible grunts and groans of the competitors could now be heard.  There were gasps of anguish and mouthings of “What am I really doing in this race?”  Some remarked, "This is not a race, this is torture."  Some even questioned the wisdom of the coordinators for having chosen such a course.

To be continued...

Stewart Russell © 1999