Endure to the end, part 2

In our endurance, Mosiah gives us wise counsel to do all things in wisdom and in order; in not running faster than we have strength but in being diligent (Mosiah 4:27-28).  There are many, many demands upon our time and attention.  Keeping balance in life is something I have struggled and continue to struggle with.  In a training meeting, President Hinckley once observed that we have four main areas of focus:  our families, our employment, our church callings and ourselves.  He counseled us not to neglect any one of them.

It is easy to get too caught up in the things of the world and become somewhat apathetic towards the church.  We can show up to our meetings each Sunday and then forget about the gospel until the following Sunday.  To the extent we fall into this trap, we become like the apostate Zoramites (Alma 31) and need to repent.  Some are more concerned about “appearing” good than actually being good.  Others become  “overly” engaged rather than “anxiously” engaged.  These souls sprint but soon tire and sometimes fall by the wayside.  They run faster than they have strength and burn out.  Each of us needs to press diligently forward.

I’m inspired by the story of Cliff Young.  Every year in Australia, world-class athletes assemble to compete in a grueling 543.7 mile (875 kilometer) endurance race from Sydney to Melbourne.  It is one of the world’s toughest ultra-marathons.

In 1983, a 61 year old farmer named Cliff Young showed up at the start of the race in overalls and work boots.  To everyone’s shock, Cliff wasn’t there as a spectator but picked up a race number and joined the other runners, most of whom were under 30 and sponsored by big name companies like Nike.

Cliff was told, “You’re crazy.  There is no way you can finish this race.”  His response was simply, “Yes I can.  I grew up on a farm where we couldn’t afford horses or tractors, and the whole time I was growing up, whenever the storms would roll in, I’d have to go out and round up the sheep.  We had 2,000 sheep on 2,000 acres.  Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days.  It took a long time, but I’d always catch them.”

Well no one took him very seriously, and as the race started Cliff was quickly left behind by the pros.  Some mocked him because Cliff didn’t even run properly.  He shuffled along in an awkward gait.  Others feared for his safety.

The runners ran all day long about 18 hours before stopping for 6 hours of sleep.  When dawn came on the second day, everyone was in for a surprise.  Not only was Cliff still in the race, but he had continued jogging all through the night without sleeping.  Cliff kept running.  Each night he continued to run without stopping while the others slept, gradually moving up the ranks of the runners.

Cliff ended up finishing the race in 5 days 15 hours and 4 minutes.  Not only had he won, but he beat the prior course record by 2 full days.  When he was awarded the winning prize of $10,000, he gave it away to some of the other runners whom he had met and felt needed it more than he did.  He stated that he hadn’t known there was a prize, he just wanted to see if he could do it.

Today, the “Young-shuffle” has been adopted by many ultra-marathon runners because it is considered more energy-efficient than a more traditional gait.  Furthermore, competitors since Cliff do not sleep.  Winning the race requires runners to go all night as well as all day, just as Cliff Young first did.

“Wherefore…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

We are capable of more than we sometimes believe.