By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
In the early-morning hours of Oct. 19, my wife, Ericka, and I went for a walk.
In the rain. In the middle of downtown Grand Rapids.
It was no ordinary walk. It was a walk with purpose.
We were walking a 10-kilometer (6.2 mile) course as part of the Run Thru The Rapids, which is one of several events held in conjunction with the University of Michigan Health-West Grand Rapids Marathon and Half Marathon that takes place the third Sunday of October every year.
We were walking to raise money for World Vision, one of the largest Christian nonprofit organizations in the world, in its mission to provide clean water to children and families and communities in parts of the world where there is no such access. It’s a cause that has caught on with
so many runners and walkers throughout West Michigan.
On that Sunday, 475 people ran or walked the Grand Rapids Marathon, Half Marathon and related races to raise money for World Vision. Nearly all of them wore orange jerseys with the Team World Vision logo on them. As of Oct. 22, our team had raised $726,850 – enough to provide clean water to more than 14,500 children in developing countries.
The Team World Vision Grand Rapids group included several members of The Foundry Church in Zeeland – two of whom walked with Ericka and I on part of our journey, Kat Kreun and Hortencia Covarrubias.
Kat introduced me to her church’s team captain, Courtney Tieman, who ran a half marathon this year but has run in nine full marathons. Courtney earlier this year ran the Comrades in South Africa, the world’s oldest ultramarathon, covering 90 kilometers (nearly 56 miles) for Team World Vision.
“It was just the mission that drew me in,” Courtney said. “The reason why (I do it is) that kids need clean water. It just broke my heart. I always loved running, but running with a purpose, it just makes a huge difference.”
And it was the purpose and mission that drew me into World Vision three years ago. After church one Sunday, a friend of ours, Robin Tuttle, invited my wife and I to hear a presentation about Team World Vision and to encourage us to consider being part of the Grand Rapids Marathon and Half Marathon.
My first reaction was “you want me to do WHAT?”
I had every excuse in the world to not sign up. I was 58 years old at the time. I was a good 30 pounds overweight. I was not an athlete. I had never run so much as a 5-kilometer race.
And yet, I think God poked me. And poked me. I think he was wanting me to step out of my comfort zone. A couple of verses from Scripture came to mind: 1 John 3:18 (“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth”) and James 2:17 (“faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”).
Eventually, I signed up to run the half marathon. So did Ericka, who is just as unathletic as me. Team World Vision provides a training program that gets you from couch potato to running a half marathon in five months. I didn’t think it was possible.
The first week, I started with a 20-minute run/walk, running (jogging) two minutes and walking one, then repeating the pattern. Within eight weeks, I could jog three miles. A month before the race, I was up to 10 miles.
On Saturday mornings, some of us would meet for group runs at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids. The runs were a source of encouragement for me, as I met others who were a lot like me – not athletic, but who believed in the mission and purpose.
Ericka injured herself during training so she could not race. So she did the next best thing – becoming a spectator on the course, wearing the brightest orange T-shirt known to man and cheering all of the Team World Vision runners on the course.
The run itself was tough, I’m not gonna lie. I had headphones with music on to spur me on and I had taped some verses from Scripture onto my wrist that I would look down to if I started to fade. The thought I had was “just keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
It took me 2 hours and 54 minutes, but I made it to the finish line. I was beat. But I also felteuphoric. I had done something I never thought I’d be able to do. God gave me the strength to finish the race.
Team World Vision quotes an African proverb in its promotional materials: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I have met so many incredible individuals through this team who become the hands and feet of Christ when they hit the pavement for their runs.
To learn more about Team World Vision, visit teamworldvision.org.
Zeeland Record
In the early-morning hours of Oct. 19, my wife, Ericka, and I went for a walk.
In the rain. In the middle of downtown Grand Rapids.
It was no ordinary walk. It was a walk with purpose.
We were walking a 10-kilometer (6.2 mile) course as part of the Run Thru The Rapids, which is one of several events held in conjunction with the University of Michigan Health-West Grand Rapids Marathon and Half Marathon that takes place the third Sunday of October every year.
We were walking to raise money for World Vision, one of the largest Christian nonprofit organizations in the world, in its mission to provide clean water to children and families and communities in parts of the world where there is no such access. It’s a cause that has caught on with
so many runners and walkers throughout West Michigan.
On that Sunday, 475 people ran or walked the Grand Rapids Marathon, Half Marathon and related races to raise money for World Vision. Nearly all of them wore orange jerseys with the Team World Vision logo on them. As of Oct. 22, our team had raised $726,850 – enough to provide clean water to more than 14,500 children in developing countries.
The Team World Vision Grand Rapids group included several members of The Foundry Church in Zeeland – two of whom walked with Ericka and I on part of our journey, Kat Kreun and Hortencia Covarrubias.
Kat introduced me to her church’s team captain, Courtney Tieman, who ran a half marathon this year but has run in nine full marathons. Courtney earlier this year ran the Comrades in South Africa, the world’s oldest ultramarathon, covering 90 kilometers (nearly 56 miles) for Team World Vision.
“It was just the mission that drew me in,” Courtney said. “The reason why (I do it is) that kids need clean water. It just broke my heart. I always loved running, but running with a purpose, it just makes a huge difference.”
And it was the purpose and mission that drew me into World Vision three years ago. After church one Sunday, a friend of ours, Robin Tuttle, invited my wife and I to hear a presentation about Team World Vision and to encourage us to consider being part of the Grand Rapids Marathon and Half Marathon.
My first reaction was “you want me to do WHAT?”
I had every excuse in the world to not sign up. I was 58 years old at the time. I was a good 30 pounds overweight. I was not an athlete. I had never run so much as a 5-kilometer race.
And yet, I think God poked me. And poked me. I think he was wanting me to step out of my comfort zone. A couple of verses from Scripture came to mind: 1 John 3:18 (“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth”) and James 2:17 (“faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”).
Eventually, I signed up to run the half marathon. So did Ericka, who is just as unathletic as me. Team World Vision provides a training program that gets you from couch potato to running a half marathon in five months. I didn’t think it was possible.
The first week, I started with a 20-minute run/walk, running (jogging) two minutes and walking one, then repeating the pattern. Within eight weeks, I could jog three miles. A month before the race, I was up to 10 miles.
On Saturday mornings, some of us would meet for group runs at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids. The runs were a source of encouragement for me, as I met others who were a lot like me – not athletic, but who believed in the mission and purpose.
Ericka injured herself during training so she could not race. So she did the next best thing – becoming a spectator on the course, wearing the brightest orange T-shirt known to man and cheering all of the Team World Vision runners on the course.
The run itself was tough, I’m not gonna lie. I had headphones with music on to spur me on and I had taped some verses from Scripture onto my wrist that I would look down to if I started to fade. The thought I had was “just keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
It took me 2 hours and 54 minutes, but I made it to the finish line. I was beat. But I also felteuphoric. I had done something I never thought I’d be able to do. God gave me the strength to finish the race.
Team World Vision quotes an African proverb in its promotional materials: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I have met so many incredible individuals through this team who become the hands and feet of Christ when they hit the pavement for their runs.
To learn more about Team World Vision, visit teamworldvision.org.
