Steve Prefontaine I'm not

US marathon legend Steve Prefontaine is given credit for saying, “The best pace is a suicide pace, and today is a good day to die.” Even though the local gym has a poster with “Pre’s” quote, it is highly unlikely the runner actually made the statement, preferring to rather set the pace just above what his competition could handle and still be alive and kicking at the end. According to Kenny Moore, the author of Steve Prefontaine’s biography and script to Without Limits, the story of Pre’s life, the quote is great, but not something Pre would have said.

Still, the alleged “suicide pace” quote makes for a good conversation piece. Unless of course you are built like a dump truck, then a suicide pace may not actually be very impressive. You see, it is all about perspective and intent. If you are built like a dump truck, a marathon is not out of the question, even if winning one might be. Your pace, if you intend on finishing, will be drastically different than that of Steve Prefontaine’s infamous quoted pace.

Paul came at the subject a little more from the dump truck perspective than from that of an elite runner. In Hebrews, he cautioned us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily tangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Heb 12:1-2, NIV)

See, from Paul’s perspective, life is more of a marathon run by a dump truck than a sprint or even that of an elite runner setting a blistering pace. Paul recognized that most of us carry baggage – baggage that weighs us down, trips us up, and threatens to derail us on the path of following Christ. Most Christians are not elite runners, zipping through life with a perfect witness, tracking the perfect Christian line through the corners, sprinting unimpeded up the long and punishing grades, and gaining speed on the down slopes. Rather, most Christians trip on the curb, barely pull ourselves up the slightest grade, and need the downhill just to catch our breath. Most of us are more like the dump truck than any resemblance to Steve Prefontaine.

But the good news is that it is ok to follow Christ like a dump truck, just remember dump trucks have two purposes – to haul objects no other truck can haul, and to dump off objects quickly and completely. Like my pastor said, God knows what you can bear, what you can carry. And He will overload your dump truck until stuff rolls over the sides, steals your traction, makes you off balance, and gets you stuck in the mud while all the marathoners race by, just to teach you that His divine dozer will always be there to push you out of the mud. And then, He will remind you that the most effective way out of the mud and up the hill is to pull the latch on the tailgate, raise the bucket, and dump all that baggage out of your life. Leave that load of sin and regret behind you and don’t look back as you climb out of the hole and run the race He has planned for your life.

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Heb 12:2-3, NIV)

(Photo courtesy of www.runbkrun.com)