The last long run…

two weeks before the marathon – covers the distance of 30 kilometers. Looong way. And you run on the asphalt, because the Firenze Marathon takes place on asphalt streets and pavements. Time to get your organism ready for what’s ahead of you. This is the real solitude of a long-distance runner. You pass by the cars, people at the bus stops, the  surveyors measuring something, an ambulance rushing down the street with the siren on… You run among the manifestations of ordinary life. Sometimes a gesture of human kindness and support. Rather seldom (it’s not a running route, where you meet the same people like you).

The marathon itself will be full of people running in front of you, behind you and next to you. Marathon is a celebration, joy, emotions – the end of so many weeks of training, the reward for that toil.

During our Programs we ask the participants to do homework tasks. Something to do every day – in line with the Program’s idea. In order to become a “better me”, bearing in mind him/her.

What I experience today as the loneliness of a long-distance runner is only the trainig. It is for some purpose. What’s ahead is the actual run. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). My marriage, my life, my eternity… It was worth the effort…

Fr Jay