You may have heard by now that last weekend Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya ran the first sub-2-hour marathon: 1:59:40. It doesn’t count as an official world record because it wasn’t a race, it was more of a demonstration complete with world-class pacers, pace cars, and a cyclist providing him water and nutrition so he didn’t have to slow down for that either. You can read the details here.

Be that as it may, he ran 26 miles at just under 4:35 per mile. When I was at my best, about 40 years ago, I ran a 10K at a 7:00 pace, and I could run a couple 6-minute miles if I worked really hard. Once I was running on our track at an Air Force school that was marked out in tenths of miles. I sprinted all out the last two tenths, doing one in 28 seconds and the last in 24 seconds. If I could have held that 28-second-tenth pace for even one mile, it would have been a 4:40. And he did 26 of them at under 4:35! Unbelievable.

How did he do it? And why does he hold the official marathon record of 2:01:39? In the words of Dallas Willard, “Not by trying but by training.” And that’s exactly what the Apostle encouraged Timothy to do:

Train yourself for godliness. 1 Timothy 4.7

Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the LORD. (Proverbs 8.34, 35, NIV)

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5.16, NIV)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9.24, 25, NIV)