Disclaimer: This is not an encouragement to do what I’ve done. I’m just sharing my story

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:8

What do you mean by mistake Victor? I’ll explain in a minute but let me share the background and some fun facts about me.

Let’s Dive in,

So I decided to sign up for my 2nd marathon this year, after really enjoying my first one last year. Last year I decided to run 5 kilometers so this year I decided to challenge myself and sign up for the 10km one. 

Fun Fact 1: I like to challenge myself in life. As soon as I finished the 5km marathon, I knew I wanted to go higher. When I see a recipe on YouTube that looks difficult, I want to try it. I like doing Workout challenges for most months of the year, which require me to push myself and work out 5 to 6 days a week. You tell me I can’t do something, that’s my fuel to actually do it.

So back to my story. I had been training for 10kms for a while. Testing my endurance, working on my pace, staying hydrated, you name it. The day of the marathon comes, 2nd July 2023 to be precise. All my hard work is going to pay off.

I should have known it was going to be a weird day when I actually woke up 45 mins late. Well, no problem. I can still make it in time if I don’t have breakfast and don’t shower (don’t judge me 😂). I get to the race precinct 30 minutes before my race starts. See, I told you I would make it.

Because I’m so confused, I quickly join a start zone and wait for the gun to be fired. The gun is fired then I start running. After a couple of kilometers, I notice everyone’s race number is blue and mine is green. Whaaat!!!!! It then hit me that I was on the wrong marathon. I joined the 6:15 Full marathon (42 KILOMETRES) instead of my 6:45 10 kilometers one.

A sensible person would go back and wait for his race to start. Not me. I decided to go with the flow. If God has given me a detour, a plot twist, then I choose to say, “Yes Lord, I am going. ” I told myself that if I get to 10 kilometers and I am tired, then I would pull out. I got to 10 kilometers then decided 15 kilometers are not too bad. So I did 15, then someone shouted “Go George!!!” So I said, 21 kilometers it is. Then I got to 21 kilometers and just like that I had finished a half marathon (unintentionally).

I pushed on and got to 25 kilometres. I was praying, Lord you brought the bones back to life in the Book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:10), please give strength to my muscles to continue. Sometimes God answers our prayers in completely different ways and this is one time I believed He did. He told me to stop, at 25 kilometers. My legs were so sore, muscles cramping and my whole body was on fire, it’s like I had swallowed the sun😂. So this time like a sensible person, I got on a tram and went to the finish line. 

Fun fact 2: I am a recovering overachiever. You remember those kids in high school who would get 98% in their exam but would go to the teacher and ask why they didn’t get 100%? That was me. I am slowly letting go of the idea that how I perform or what I achieve defines my identity (pray for me y’all).

For a second, I wanted to criticize myself for not pushing through to 42 kilometers. But thank God I didn’t. I mean, for a person who didn’t train for this, 25 kilometers is a massive achievement. Listen, I have done some daring things in my life, but none compares to this one.

This crazy experience has taught me a few things:

1. Trust God when plans change – Ain’t no way I could have gotten that far if God didn’t strengthen me. We see numerous times in the Bible where God goes against what we planned for. I mean, think of all the times the disciples thought Jesus was doing one thing and He switched up on them (ask Peter what happened when he stepped on water in Matthew 14: 22 – 33). Running a marathon might be a minor thing but sometimes in life, God will introduce a plot twist that completely disrupts what you planned in a major way. Your career, your relationships, your purpose, you name it. I know He has done it severally in my life. The temptation is to panic and abandon that detour. Remember, If He brought you to it, He will bring you through it.

2. I am strong and resilient – Maybe I should say, my legs are strong. I am amazed at how much resilience I had to continue pushing. I have been told that before, but I’ve never really believed it or added it to my personal vocabulary. Everything in me was saying STOP but there was a voice, the Holy Spirit nudging me to keep going. And I did, until He said otherwise. 

3. The goal is to do my best – I am so proud of myself because I did my best. 25 kilometers was my best. One day I will finish 42 kilometers, but for now, I will wear my 25 kilometers with honor. I might have not gotten a Finisher medal today but one day I will. As Christians, our goal is to get to heaven and here the words ‘ Well done, Good and Faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). The goal is to do the best in the lane and the purpose God has called you to. The best part is – We have the Holy Spirit to help us when we are not able to do our best (2 Corinthians 12:9)

4. It might be ‘by mistake’ for me but it was always on purpose for God – Many times we say, “I didn’t expect this or that but I just found myself doing it”. The things that catch us by surprise are never a surprise to God. Matthew 10:30 reminds us that even the hairs on our head are numbered. That’s how intentional God is with us. Trust God’s plan when it’s different to yours.

Is it the wisest thing to run a distance you haven’t trained for? No. Would I do that again? Probably not! I prayed for adrenaline on the morning of the marathon, God answered my prayer, but He did it His way (Don’t we just love God).

After this experience, I feel like I can do absolutely anything. Climb Mt. Everest – easy. Go to the moon – sign me up, Sky dive, umm..well..I don’t know about that one. (Fun fact 3: I am terribly afraid of heights)

It has taken one week to recover. That’s one week of limping on my way to work, one week of taking lifts rather than stairs, one week of struggling to sit on the toilet (I’m just being real y’all). But now that all that pain is lifted, what is left is the joy of the experience (It makes me think of Jesus as He is described in Hebrews 12:2).

What is the most daring thing you have done? Was it planned or impromptu? I would love to hear your crazy stories.

Until next time, this is your favorite daring, tired but resilient blogger – signing out!!