An Accidental Champion

Meredith Fitzmaurice only planned to run a half-marathon on Sep 22, 2013 in Amherstburg, Ontario, hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

At the 13 mile point, she made a wrong turn. She missed the "offramp" and just kept running on the course for the full marathon. When she later realized her mistake, she decided to make the most of it and get in a good 20 mile training run. But at 20 miles in, she realized something. There were only 9 men in front of her. She was currently the fastest woman on the course.

After making sure it was permitted by the organizers, she soldiered on, winning the race with a time of 3:11:48 and came in 10th overall. (She qualified for Boston.)

How did she miss the exit for the half-marathon? She had her headphones in and was "in the zone." Oh, and her longest run before this? 20 miles. She had just run her first 26.2 and won it!

Fitzmaurice's preparation, training, and love for running put her in a position to succeed when unexpected circumstances occurred. In the spiritual life, it's much the same. If, like Paul the Apostle, we train in godliness and out of love for our Lord, when we are presented with an opportunity to do great good in service, we will be ready and able to be victorious.