The 5K

Let me just start by saying that I live in pretty much the greatest ward there is.

Our bishop firmly believes in the need to "do hard things." At the beginning of the year we were challenged to read the Book of Mormon before April General Conference. He called it the "Ironman" challenge because reading the entire Book of Mormon in that short amount of time is not an easy undertaking. After that spiritual challenge was complete he challenged us to something physical--a 5K race.

So for the past several months our ward has been working together to prepare ourselves to be up to the challenge. There have been classes on training and nutrition, groups of walkers and runners meeting to workout together, and a fireside focusing on the spiritual nature of running this race of life. It has been inspiring and motivating and unifying for our ward.

This morning was the race.

Now I admit I wasn't as prepared as I could have been, but I knew at the very least I could walk it without too much trouble, having already done a 5K earlier in the summer. And I actually ended up running more than I thought I would.

But in the end the value of the experience wasn't even about the running. It was great to be part of something bigger than me--a goal we have all had together and now we were seeing come to pass. It was sweet to see people of all ages pushing themselves to do something difficult. I heard cheers of encouragement and laughter. I felt an immense measure of joy to be out with friends on a crisp fall morning enjoying this beautiful world the Lord has given us.

I don't even know who finished first and it doesn't even matter. We all won today.