Run so as to win!

Run so as to win. ~1 Cor 9:24

As soon as I saw what the first reading was for today's Mass, I thought of a book that I just finished reading: Yukon Alone by John Balzar. It's an account of his experience as a volunteer for the Yukon Quest, the annual international dog sled race. This epic winter sports event takes place every February and covers 1,000 miles between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse in Canada’s Yukon Territory. Mushers and their teams of 14 dogs compete over two weeks across frozen rivers and lakes and over mountain summits in the heart of the Arctic winter. It is an absolutely brutal race that demands the utmost of the musher and his canine team. Only the most daring need apply.

Run so as to win, St. Paul says. What does it take to win the Yukon Quest? Among other things, ambition, farsightedness, mental agility, physical stamina, devotion to one's dogs, and love of nature. For that matter, a race participant needs all that and more in huge quantities just to run and survive. Then there are the supplies such as food for the musher and dog, adequate clothing, a few tools, headlamp and bulbs (these guys are running in darkness, too!), etc. One must be sure to take enough but not so much as to weigh down the sled and make the burden heavier for the dogs. Thankfully there are designated stations where mushers and dogs can stop, and some of these stops are even required, they're written into the rules for the race. Here both man and beast can find in abundance warmth, food, rest and the ever-necessary companionship of others, but again, neither too much nor too little. Participants must also think of their own individual needs such as cigarettes for one, classical music tapes for another, chocolate for a third, and so on.

Run so as to win! What do I need to run the race that God has set before me on this earth? Holy ambition, steadfast determination, and burning love come to mind, along with utter confidence in the One who is calling and leading me. I need God's holy Word, the sacraments of the Church, and good, solid spiritual reading along with the company of Our Lady, my guardian angel and patron saints, all the angels and saints, my spiritual father and friends, my dear family, my parish community, and all those individuals whom God has given and will give me on this journey. Also, I personally need spiritual direction and a good deal of quiet and solitude. If I don't have these things and a few others as well, I won't even be able to run and survive.

I'm running, Lord, I'm running as fast and as best I can. And You are running with me, which makes it all sheer joy. Amen! Alleluia!