6 Surprising Similarities Between Running and Christianity

Running and the Christian faith have lots of obvious things in common. Rich histories; friendly people; relentlessly enthusiastic evangelists (I'm looking at you, runners). There are also some surprising similarities you might not have considered...

1. Mass Participation

There are lots of runners. According to Statista, in the U.K. over 7 Million people run at least once a month. That's over 10% of the population, making running the number 1 fitness pastime in the UK. In 2018 Strava clocked 241 million runs and 944.8 million miles of running worldwide. According to ellittline, just this week 188,670 runners and 26,969 volunteers took part in ParkRun around the world.

There are lots of Christians. If you live in the UK you could be forgiven for believing the Christian faith is slowly disappearing (it's not by the way!). Whilst church denominations in the UK, and the 'progressive west' in general, are going through a tough time numerically (another blog for another blog site) - the church worldwide is thriving! Nearly 1/3 of the world's population identifies as christian. That's a lot of people!

One of the reasons running is so popular is that the barriers to entry are so low. All you need is a pair of trainers (even those are optional) and off you go. The Christian church is thriving because there is one condition for entry and one alone - putting your trust in Jesus Christ. No specific skills, no personal qualities, no good track record and no prior experience necessary. Jesus invites all to "come, follow me" Luke 18.22, and billions have.

2. Suffering

Ultimately running success comes down to one's ability to endure suffering. Whether that be a lung busting; metallic tasting; breath stealing Parkrun PB, or the slow, steady, methodical plod of completing a 100 mile ultramarathon. Those who prosper are the ones who resolve to persist under suffering.

When we run we understand that suffering is necessary and choose to take it on because we see the fruit it produces. We improve. We get faster and stronger. We accomplish something. We reach the finish line.

Christianity is the same. The Apostle Paul writes,

To be a follower of Jesus requires us to be willing to suffer for His sake and for the sake of others. Because of this, being a Christian is hard! Suffering comes in many forms from extreme persecution and martyrdom to the mundane cost of missing races so you can worship with your church family (see point 3). But as followers of Jesus we take on suffering willingly because we see how enduring temporary discomfort can lead us to future glory, or as Peter puts is "the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."1 Peter 1.9.

When I learn to endure suffering on the trails, I think it builds my capacity to keep plodding forwards with Jesus too.

3. Sunday Mornings

For runners and Christians alike, a disproportionate amount of the activity takes place on Sundays. Yeah, thanks for that.

4. Gratitude

I have found runners, in general, to be positive and grateful people. Not all of us, of course, and not all the time. But how often do runners utter, "It's just good to be out running" or "What a great day for this"? I don't know who they are thankful to of course, but they are thankful nonetheless. Maybe it's the simplicity of running that brings us back to awareness of our basic human needs? When we run, we realise we don't need much, so we're thankful for what is.

When I run I feel thankful to God, for a great many things. I feel thankful for the running itself and the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of creation. It's not unusual for me to be toddling along shouting "Yes!", "This is amazing!" "Thank you Jesus for this!". As I run I'm thankful to God for my family, my friends, my home. And I'm thankful for God himself. Gratitude is of course a profoundly christian characteristic.

To be a Christian is to acknowledge the good things that we experience and to give God the credit for them. Giving him his worth is worship. Thank you God for running!

5. Risk

When I run off road I try to stay as safe as I can. I tell Abby where I'm going. I wear the right clothes for the conditions. I have a map and compass for navigation, as well as my phone. I carry a pack with emergency food and bivy bag. But despite this, there is always an element of risk and I've got myself in one or two tricky situations in poor conditions.

If you read the stories of the early church in Acts you see that being a follower of Jesus is a decidedly risky business. His followers were bold, no nonsense adventurers who lived every day in the presence of serious danger simply for being associated with Jesus. But they knew that it was worth giving up everything for what Jesus had to offer.

Running, in my mind, should be an adventure where you're not ever 100% sure if you've bitten off more than you can chew. The Christian life is the same. We are always in over our heads when seeking to emulate Jesus. It's when we take risky steps of faith that we learn to be dependant on God. And when we fully rely on God we experience the thrill or truly living.

6. Bad Coffee

I'm generally quite fussy about coffee. As a vicar, though, there are times when I graciously accept bad coffee from lovely people. When running an ultramarathon I will accept caffeine in any form, delivered by any method.

We'll explore some of these topics in much more detail in future posts. In the meantime, what other surprising continuities have you seen between running and Christianity?