Yesterday our mudrun team drove out to Cowles Mountain for practice.  The course was a little over two miles to the summit with an elevation delta of a little over one thousand feet.  From the trail head, we could see what we believed to be the summit and started running in that direction with at a slight incline.  But shortly after, the grade increased, the trail became more rocky and dusty, and head high foliage blocked our views of the summit.  Every now and then we would get a glimpse of the summit, but then turn off in the other direction in a set of dusty switch-backs.  The trail routed us up a nearby moutain (hill) and then across a ridge-like stretch where we could see the true peak of Cowles Mountain, slightly higher than the peak we saw from the trail head.  We also got to see increased grade of the final stretch for our run.  The head high brush no longer blocked our view and the sun became a lot more harsh.  When we reached the summit, it was a good feeling.  There were other hikers and bikers there, enjoying the breeze and the view.  We tried to see where we had come from and we tried to recognize places in San Diego that were familiar to us.

Often I feel runs like this illustrate aspects of my life and walk/run with God.  I feel like the task before me is like a mountain.  At the trail head I’m full of expectation and optimism of the journey ahead.  But a little ways into the journey, I get discouraged at not being able to see the goal anymore.  The rocks and dust temper my determination.  The head-high bush distractions of life get in the way of my view of the goal.  I have to focus on the trail, and just put one step infront of the other.  The trail always gets steeper, despite my hoping that maybe it will get easier.  Though, now and then, if I’m aware enough to look for them, there are glimpses of the goal ahead.

As I get closer to the goal, the distractions of life get put in the right perspective, but there is more heat beating down on me.  When we near the actual summit, we realize that what we thought was the peak really wasn’t the peak at all, and that God had something different (better) in mind.  When we do reach the top, there will be others waiting for us there, who have run the trail before.  We look back on how God has provided for us in the past and where we have come from.  And then, we run back down the mountain only to go and find the next higher, harder one to attempt, having gained the perspective, the learnings, the failures and the successes of that completed mountain.  Lastly, the run would have been much more difficult if it were not for my teammates.  We are in this race together, and we will finish together.