Pain, Gain, and Teamwork.

On Sunday, dear friends, I ran a 5K in Raleigh. The Old Reliable Race has occurred for 24 years now, and supports United Way... I learned this after being interviewed about it on TV.

For those of you not savvy in the running sphere, a 5K is a 3.11 mile race, typically run, jogged, walked or sprinted.

First place went to a very very horizontally challenged man. Turn him sideways, and he disappeared. Except for the florescent orange shorts, which would reveal his location, even on the darkest night. Second place went to a man with a baby stroller. Added momentum, I think so... the child slept throughout the entire race. Meanwhile, I nabbed the interview with News Channel 14, airing on TV for a total of 30 seconds, 24 times in one day. Yes, overkill. But dang it, I enjoyed it. And I had a remarkable finish in 28 minutes and some change. Fifth place woman in my age category. Two-hundred and fifty-second overall. Yes, I like the first statistic better.

And unlike the last 5K that I ran, wherein I decided to check out the "pain is gain" philosophy of not training and "just doing it," (Nike meets Nietzsche?) I actually trained for this race. However, I converted Jim, our Intervarsity international staff to my mentality of pain and gain... ergo, my legacy lives on. Regardless...

Upon the conclusion of this race, I found myself considering racing as a mentality for life, yet again. This particular race, I ran as a team with a friend... we trained together, we planned the race, and we ran the race together. And our time reflected our combined effort. Now, let's be straight... I am incredibly competitive. I view running as a competitive sport in which I strive, by myself, to beat my own personal speed goals. I have never run as a team before. And frankly, the idea scares me most of the time. I like to be a lone ranger, dang it. After all, this is why I run: So that I don't have to play with other kids. Clearly.

But sometimes, the game isn't about me. Shocker, yes, I know. Sometimes, running is like life. And our task is to run as a team. For the benefit of the team. Even if that means taking one for the team. Or being carried by the team. One of my friends tells a great story about running as a team with another woman... my friend fell, early in the race, and ran slowly, with a limp, for the remainder of the race. Her friend, rather than finishing with a quicker time, slowed down to run with my friend. She encouraged her, challenged her, and made her finish. She ran the race for the team, not for herself. Her time was slower, but their combined average was faster than it would have been, had she left my friend in the dust, and finished by herself.

The same metaphor applies when we're learning about community. Sometimes its easier to keep running on ahead, by ourselves, grasping concepts which seem easy to us, leaving behind those who don't seem to get it as quickly.... for example:

* Multi-ethnicity
* Social Justice
* Discipleship
* The idea and necessity of Community

Just understanding it ourselves is enough... so we blast by, leaving behind our "teammates" finishing the race by ourselves within our allotted time period. We lack a team mentality. I lack a team mentality. We don't slow down to carry our teammates with us. We expect them to keep up, and if they don't, darn it, well that's just too bad.

So I'm going to propose something radical.

What if we're called to run as a team, and our combined time, metaphorically speaking, is what matters, not our individual times?

What if we're called to be a body? Imagine if the leg were to say that it wanted to grow to full potential, without the torso also growing in proportion? Disaster, right?

What if you are your brother's keeper, and what happens to your brothers and sisters in community matters to your growth?

What if it's more important that you both cross the line, than that you individually cross it quickly?

Does this mean don't run as though to win the race? No.
Does it mean that you hinder your own growth? No.
Does it mean that you have to change your mindset, to "run" or "live" for the team? Yes.

Radical, yes. Worth it, yes. Something to think about...