Tomorrow's race and this week's column

Run, Norris, Run

By the time you read this, I'll be close to quitting.

No, not quitting this column or even this life. I'll be near quitting the crazy race I'm running with my running group, Running for Rhet. (www.runninforrhett.org)

The race is the California International Marathon and it's been held in Sacramento for the past 28 years on the first Sunday in December. As marathons go, this one is popular for its lack of hills. Many runners use the net drop in elevation to qualify for the Boston marathon, but I'm just hoping to finish in five hours and remove it from my "bucketlist."

No, this isn't a sports column. It's still a spiritual column, but this time I'm not giving spiritual support, I'm asking for it. I figure that telling you and a few hundred thousand other readers that I'm running a 26-mile race is the best insurance against quitting.

Still, if you're prone to bet, there are several reasons you might not want to place your spiritual currency on me to finish.

For instance, we've trained for 16 weeks, but I've missed much of the coaching sessions because I was deployed or vacationing.

Plus, it's supposed to rain. For the past several weeks, I've been telling my coaches, Rochelle and Will Hightower, that I'd be a no-show if it rains. But now, I have to go because I've told you I will.

I suppose I should be thankful that it shouldn't be the cold rain we usually get in Northern California. Weather forecasters are saying temperatures will be in the upper 40s. Unfortunately, they are also using phrases like "flood watch" and 40 mph gusts.

Of course, if you are a superstitious bettor, you oughtn't place your wagers on me. My race number is 1313 or depending on how you say it, "thirteen-thirteen."

To add to all of those whining excuses, I've strained a calf muscle and this will be my first run since November 16.

This past week, I visited sports medicine doctor and co-medical director of the race, Meredith Bean. She's a very nice doctor who told me to ice my calf six times a day and stretch at least that many times. She even invited me to look for her at the finish line, unwittingly adding the caveat, "If you finish." I heard the accent on the "if."

Despite the odds of finishing, I'm feeling a bit like the character Forrest Gump in the 1994 movie of the same name. Forrest was a seemingly simple-minded mama's boy whose leg braces caused him to be the constant target of school bullies.

The movie's theme may have been best expressed in the scene where Forrest's friend, Jenny, pleads with him to escape the bullies by chanting, "Run, Forrest. Run!"

And so he does, but with an unsteady gait.

As he's running, the braces miraculously fall off and Forrest outruns his bicycle-riding pursuers. At that moment, he realizes for the very first time in his life that he is good at something.

I started running one year ago and a lot of things have miraculously fallen off. I've lost nearly thirty pounds. Much of the self-doubt went with it. I now feel like I can accomplish nearly anything if I simply keep a steady pace of improvement.

So, if you are betting on me, log onto www.runcim.org after 10 a.m. Eastern Time and type in 1313 to see where I am.

Then I want you to put your nose to the computer screen and start chanting, "Run Norris Run." I'm hoping it just might help.

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Norris Burkes is a syndicated columnist, national speaker and author of No Small Miracles. He also serves as an Air National Guard chaplain and is board-certified in the Association of Professional Chaplains. You may leave recorded comments at 321-549-2500, or email them to ask@thechaplain.net, or send comments to P.O. Box 247, Elk Grove, CA 95759. Please visit his website thechaplain.net