Toeing the line 

 I'd signed up to do the Blaydon Race back in January and was delighted to get an entry.
This iconic race is always oversubscribed so it was a pleasant surprise to get a place.
Whilst my training had been adequate over the spring, it wasn't where I wanted it to be but I was going to run regardless.

The fly in the ointment leading up to the 9th of June was a persistent and niggling raised joint on my right foot that was sore when I walked but curiously less painful when I ran.
Having had it x-rayed, it just so happened that the results came through on the morning of the race. The physio declared that I had severe osteoarthritis in the joint. I looked at him a little disconsolately and said 'well I guess that's going to curtail my running then'. But his reply surprised and cheered me: Not at all he said running helps keep the joint flexed and this will prolong the joint. Stopping running will merely cause it to become more painful and require further medical intervention sooner.
This was music to my ears.

It's not that I'm a great runner - I'm not - but running is good for me holistically and to not be able to do it would be detrimental.
The race itself started in pouring rain underneath the Tyne Bridge and a 15 minute delay to the start didn't help the mood of runners who just wanted to get started. Once we did get underway, the clouds broke and the sun came out.
For my part, my expectations on time weren't high but I felt good enough for the majority of the 5.9 mile course.
But.... the last mile felt tough. 
I was feeling 'leggy' and just needed to keep going. 

This was the point at which the encouragement of the crowd can make all the difference. 
Problem was... this was not the Great North Run and there weren't not thousands of spectators lining the streets. Encouragement would be sparse.
But... when it came, my goodness it was 'other level' encouragement!
I could hear the voice at least a hundred yards before I got to her and she was shouting at the top of her voice. GO ON!! YOU CAN DO IT!! NOT FAR NOW!!
It raised a smile on my face and many others. A little encouragement goes a long way.

So why all this running story-telling? 
Simply because there were two elements of my experience that I see mirrored in Hebrews 12:1-3 which reads: Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 

In the first instance I knew that I had to have a 'never quit' attitude to that Blaydon Race. No excuses. No blaming anything on arthritic joints. No negativity. Just. Keep. Running.
The second  is the importance of being 'cheered on'. I have no idea if the enthusiastic encourager was a 'veteran' but I do know that she had a part to play that day and she played it well.

I don't know about you but 'injuries' can and do hamper my running as a follower of Jesus. Sometimes its self imposed and sometimes its beyond my control but it can be hard. 
What I do know is that when the injuries are causing my running to be severely impeded, it is then more than any other time that I need the encouragement of 'veterans cheering me on'. 
ABC, my dear church family, you've have proved to be encouragers to me and Caroline at just the right time and in just the right way. Thank you.

Of course throughout all this, the fundamental aspect of these verses in Hebrews 12 point us to one person: Jesus. 
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it…
... Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honour, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he ploughed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!