Take the Mason Presbyterian 5K Challenge!

“Love the Lord your God . . . with all your strength. . . .”

Every year in May, Mason State Bank holds an annual 5K event – a great, outdoor, social, fun, and health-promoting event that anyone can participate in – from babes in strollers to elderly in wheelchairs. The goal is simply to walk or run 3.1 miles along a prescribed route through the streets of Mason. Last year, thirteen members or friends of the church participated in the event, ranging from forth-grader Abby Seely to fifty-year member Jack Davis. Tori Alonge, John Castle, Connie Cantrell, Beth Creamer, Emma Creamer, Olivia Creamer, Vicky Laird, Jane Somerville, Tonya Seely, Mason Van Dyke, and I also walked or ran last year. We ranged from an intense, super-fast run of 17:55 (way to go, Mason!) to several nice, peaceful, leisurely walks, almost an hour in duration.

This year, the Parish Life Committee launches a challenge: How many members and friends of the church are willing to either walk or run this event, while proudly wearing our Mason First Presbyterian t-shirts?

The event will be held on Friday, May 7, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Registration for the event will probably cost about $20.00; information about registration will be available in some local stores and online as the event draws nearer. The event begins and ends right in front of our church. Participants head east on Maple Street, north on Temple Street, west on Columbia Street with a trek through part of the Rayner Ponds subdivision, then continue on Columbia back to Barnes Street, where participants turn south and ascend that hill along the east side of the church. Then you turn the corner back onto Maple, where you are greeted by all sorts of enthusiastic fans as you triumphantly say to yourself, “I’ve done it!” The whole route is mapped online at http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=111601. Last year, a total of 677 walkers and runners participated. It’s a tremendously fun evening, and gives participants a great feeling of accomplishment.

Who benefits from our participation in the event? Lots of people!

Our youth benefit! All proceeds from the sale of our Mason First Presbyterian Church t-shirts provide financial support the mission trips that many of our youth participate in. If you didn’t purchase a t-shirt last year, we still have plenty available. Buy a shirt and wear one on the day of the event!

Mason Public Schools benefit! All proceeds from registrations for the Mason State Bank 5K event support the Mason Public Schools.

Our church benefits! The more people we have participating and wearing our t-shirts, the more visibility our church will have in the wider community. Who knows, someone who is looking for a church to call home might decide to strike up a conversation with you!

You benefit! The benefits of walking or running are tremendous. It’s an easy exercise habit to get into that be done just about anytime and anyplace, and requires very little specialized gear (a good pair of shoes is a must). It’s good for burning calories and building muscle tone; it helps you sleep better at night; it’s good for your brain; it gives you more energy; it heightens your creativity; it helps build your self-confidence; it’s a great way to process the challenges that life sends your way – and it just simply feels great. It’s also a wonderful way to be a good steward of one of the most amazing gifts God has given you: your body.

You’ve heard me say this before, and undoubtedly you’ll hear me say it again. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I would become a runner. Friends from college look at me in wonder as they see how active I’ve become in recent years; this is not the Bill they once knew! There was a time – just a few years ago – when I could barely jog a mile without getting winded. It was just over a year ago when I realized that if I set my mind to it and worked at it, I could run a 5K. I’ve come to believe that anybody in reasonably decent health can do it, if they set their mind to it and work at it and are willing to learn some good habits along the way. It simply takes some perseverance, discipline, and will. I wish now that I had taken up a regular physical activity much earlier in life; I think I would have been a happier person. I have come to believe – and I believe this very strongly – that God does indeed call us to be good stewards of these amazing bodies that we have been given. In both the Old and New Testaments we are encouraged to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and all our mind, and all our soul, and all our strength, and I have come to believe that this means that our lives have four dimensions – an emotional dimension, a mental dimension, a spiritual dimension, and a physical dimension – and that we are called to utilize all four of those dimensions as we seek to serve our Lord. We should not be neglecting any one of those dimensions in our daily walk through life! Our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies are gifts to us from God, and we need to do everything we can to work towards greater health in all four of those areas. Here’s an opportunity to work towards greater health in the physical dimension; here’s an opportunity to help your body grow stronger and healthier. Believe me – you will sincerely appreciate any steps you take towards better stewardship of your body.

If you want to show moral support for our runners and walkers but don’t feel like participating in the event on May 7, that’s okay – put on your Mason Pres t-shirt and come cheer from the sidelines. If you are potentially interested in participating but aren’t sure that you can walk 3.1 miles, start getting into the habit of walking a little bit now, and make a point of walking several days a week and gradually increasing your distance over time. (That’s why we’re announcing this now rather than waiting till April – it takes time to reach towards a goal.) If you know you can walk 3.1 miles and want to try working yourself up to the point where you could run all or part of that distance, there are lots of resources available to help you, including some folks right here in our church. A couple of our most experienced runners – Amy Yanz-Stewart and Mason Van Dyke – are willing to help provide encouragement, advice, and moral support to any who want to give this a try; we’ll see if we can arrange an opportunity for them to talk to those among you who are interested in learning tips from some pros. I can also point you in the direction of some handy training schedules that can take even the most resolute couch potato and turn that individual into a walker or runner within a matter of weeks. A word of caution, however – before beginning a new program of physical activity, please check with your doctor first. (And runners, don’t forget to stretch – it’s really important, and we can show you how to do that.)

The goal of this Mason Presbyterian 5K Challenge is not to be competitive with other walkers or runners. The goals are to have fun, to get some good exercise, to do something that will benefit you as well as other people, and to do a little publicity for the church in the process. Some of us may have personal goals; I, for one, will be trying to beat my time from last year. Please do not feel intimidated by the fact that there are lots of people who will be faster than you. Everybody who crosses the finish line is a winner, no matter what their pace. Come, be a winner. Join us for the Mason Presbyterian 5K Challenge. Have some fun. Get some exercise. Be a good steward of that amazing gift God has given you: your body.

“Love the Lord your God . . . with all your strength!”
(Deuteronomy 6:5; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27)

Peace and blessings,

Bill