thejoyfilledrunner: 2014 Gracerunner Journey

2014 Gracerunner Journey

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

On Friday March 22, a group of 16 TEAM 413 members gathered at the home of Kent and Becky Adams in Celina, TX to glorify God in an attempt to run 413 miles in 72 hours as part of a relay.

From left to right-back row - John McClung, Jamey Johnston, Kent Adams, Eric Bissonnette, Chuck Jones, Bob Sadler
Middle row-Clifford Walker, Ashley Gillespie Brinkley, Kiki Gillespie, Chris Gillespie, Kim Bissonnette, Robin Chevalier, Laura Murrieta, Brian Joslin
Front row-Sheri Sadler, Melissa Martinez, Penny Koller (and our squirrel mascot pictured in the very front)
www.team413.org

We knew from the start that it was going to be tough. Like TEAM 413 as a whole, all of us pictured here have different paces, running abilities and endurance levels. We were counting on Chris Gillespie to find a way to combine them all proving that "We can do all things through Christ" who strengthens us. 1 Peter 4:10 says, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." So... that was the plan. Take the gifts God gave each of us, use them to the best of our individual ability and glorify God through it inspiring others along the way to do the same. With that goal in mind, we were set to begin at 8:00 am Friday morning and finish by 8:00 am Monday morning. There was no if we would finish, only a when we would finish.

Friday morning began with Chris, the founder of TEAM 413, taking the first shift. He had back surgery five weeks ago and been hesitantly cleared to run by his doctor. He was going to push through the pain to begin the first mile of every round (7 of them). I was blessed to be the one to follow him with a 8:15-9:15 am running shift that first day. The shifts changed every day. Seems easy enough right? Well, this wasn't to be a casual run for any of us. We had to run as hard and fast as we could for every shift we had battling the Texas heat and humidity and changing schedules meant little sleep.

Passing off the "baton"

And here I go

The running would continue throughout the night with some runners doing 15 minute shifts, some 30 and the lucky ones an hour shift. I must say the house looked like a war zone by midnight. There were runners everywhere either getting ready to run, recovering from a run, rolling out muscles, eating or sleeping. We quickly settled into a routine though. One thing was constant, prayer and praise. We all knew that, to complete this goal, we had to keep our eyes, hearts and minds focused on Christ. Praise music was playing 24/7 and there was always someone awake and praying.

After the 2nd round

By the morning of day 2, everyone had run at least two shifts and we were more determined than ever as we watched the time decrease as our miles increased. While many of us had run together before, there were a few members I was running with for the first time. I have learned there are no strangers in Christ. When someone truly loves the Lord, you love them immediately because God shines through them. So it was with my new friends. It seemed we had known each other for a very long time and we wasted no time in having fun, dancing, praising and telling jokes. This day was amazing!!!! Everyone ran really well and we knew victory was in sight.

The morning of day 2 with Bob Sadler and Chris Gillespie

By day 3, we were feeling the effects of very little sleep, a whole bunch of excitement and some sore muscles and upset bellies. None of us was used to the schedule we were keeping but, praise God, there was no complaining and no doubting. We knew that God was going to pull us all through. By this time, hundreds of other TEAM 413 members around the US were posting their miles on the virtual page and we were stoked!!! It was amazing how many other runners were lifting us up in prayer as they sacrificed their time to glorify God logging the miles along with us. Wow! That really got us going. This day, God provided us with a rain storm and a display of His mighty works (lightning). Kiki was caught out in it as it was her shift. After rescuing her, we had a 30 minute rest as we waited for the storm to pass. Would you believe that God sent us a rainbow?!!!!! We knew that we would finish after seeing that. I love it when God shows off!!!

Isn't this amazing? This appeared and the race resumed.

At 3:00 am on Monday morning (5 hours ahead of schedule) we hit 413 miles. As we all hugged, cried and praised the Lord, we took a victory lap-all of us, including Kent and Becky who worked around the clock feeding us and keeping us "in the race."

As we all walked this victory lap, I couldn't help but tell Chuck Jones, "Hey Chuck, when I ran by myself these last few nights, my light was so dim I couldn't see well. Notice how well we see when everyone is together shining their light?" He looked at me and we both knew, this was the lesson to be learned. Praise you Jesus for friends to get us through the darkest nights and to help us on our journey. May we never forget that true friends are a gift to be treasured and a treasure to be cherished.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the lessons we learned this weekend. I pray that, through this journey, we led someone to you. May our lights shine brighter each day as we yearn to know you more and be a light to others in the darkness. Thank you, Father, most of all, for friends. They make this life a brighter place and as you remind us in Proverbs 27:17, "iron sharpens iron, as one person sharpens another.". May You always be the center of our friendships, our families and our lives. We praise you Jesus for all you have done and everything You are doing in our lives now. You are worthy to be praised. In your most precious name we pray Jesus, Amen.

Happy Running!!!

Some random pics from this weekend.