It was so popular a few years back, that the fashion designers even invented jogging suits, basically a track suit rebranded with a bit more flamboyant colouring and the occasional glitter. Some came with hoodies, others were bathed in pastel blues and pinks, many were shiny, some had different coloured tops and pants, but all served the purpose of identifying the wearer with the rapidly expanding group of people known as joggers. And they came in all shapes and sizes, ages and colours, from all religions and cultures but with one common goal of getting out there and actively doing something to improve their health and fitness. Often the 'jogger' did not resemble an athlete in appearance nor in movement and for some it was clear that this was their first form of exercise for many years, but there was always safety in numbers and many laughed and joked their way along the roads with friends even though a smile was the last thing they were feeling at the time. It became an obsession with many, so much in fact that city and slightly shorter races sprang up in most of our major cities and towns, almost overnight, with groups of joggers treading the same surface as more seasoned and finely tuned athletes and finishing, often many hours after the main racers had retired to their homes. Nevertheless, they did finish and despite the occasional runner for whom the unusual strenuous nature of a long run was just too much, most coped with such challenges to return another day. but for those who decided not to return and also for those who never started, the jogging suit never went away and still remains as a necessary fashion item for many women and men whose last thought is breaking into a trot. I'm not sure what caused the huge upsurge of interest in jogging but probably a couple of books by an American called Jim Fixx had a profound effect on its development as a 'sport for all', though the poor man himself died while out jogging though there may have been a more strong genetic reason for his early demise rather than anything about his running exertions. But people definitely caught the bug and when they thought of the good it was doing to their hearts and general aerobic respiration, as well as maintaining or even creating an acceptable level of fitness, the whole thing seemed very worthwhile. Yet there were down sides to the process. For one thing, over the years, wear and tear on knees, ankles and other leg joints increased and left some individuals in a less fit state than before, though recent studies showed that regular joggers over many years may actually suffer from less muscular and skeletal pain than those who don't participate. But there were always other hazards. Apart from the obvious, sprains, broken bones and pulled muscles and the chances of becoming dehydrated or suffering heatstroke or sunstroke, the danger of being attacked by a mugger was always a possibility for some joggers while those who weren't careful could easily have come off worst in a collision with a car, a bus or even a bicycle.
So what is jogging? Well it's not walking and it's not sprinting so it falls somewhere in between the two but the general consensus if that if you travel at a speed of more than six miles per hour you are no longer in a jog. This always amused me when we were training at our rugby club. One of our activities was always to sprint to the half way line and to jog back and that's when I realised that jogging means different things to different people. As I jogged back towards the goal line, somewhere in the middle group, sort of an average jogger, I would look ahead and see another colleague also jogging but his jog was so much quicker than ours and you couldn't say he was sprinting nor was he exerting himself any more than most of us. It just seemed that for him, jogging was somewhere closer to what some of our team would have called sprinting for them. I never could jog alongside him - he would almost have been reduced to walking pace, but that was OK because we both understood that not everyone runs at the same pace nor completes the course at the same time.
That has made me very aware of my brothers and sisters in Christ and how we are all at different stages of running the race. Some who have come to faith much later, seem to make up for lost time and move further on in their experience than others who have been believers for many years but have assumed a more leisurely pace. The Psalmist says 'I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.' But at the end of the day it's not about how far you are down the road. What's important is that you are actually on the road at all. You know it's so easy to sit in the comfort of your armchair and criticise the jogger but it's a little more difficult to see them in the same light when you're out there running alongside. And just as jogging isn't a competition, so running the Christian race is not an opportunity to see all the faults in others, but it is a chance to be with those of like mind and to press on with God's help towards the finish line. Are you ready to run?
