The Last Miles of Eliud Kipchoge

On October 12, 2019, in Vienna's Prater Park, Eliud Kipchoge became the first human being to run a marathon in under two hours. But what struck viewers wasn't the record — it was the final stretch. As Kipchoge crossed the 25-mile mark, his face broke into a wide, unhurried smile. He wasn't grimacing. He wasn't desperate. He was savoring it. Forty-one pacemakers had rotated in and out over the course, each one spent and stepping aside. But Kipchoge ran every single step. And in those closing meters, he looked like a man who had nothing left to prove and nothing left to fear.

That is the spirit of Paul writing to Timothy from a Roman prison cell. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." These aren't the words of a man clinging to life. They're the words of a man smiling at the finish line. Paul had been beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, and abandoned by friends. Yet he writes not with bitterness but with settled confidence: "The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength."

Kipchoge trained for years to earn a crown that will tarnish and a record that will eventually fall. Paul fixed his eyes on something far greater — the crown of righteousness, awarded by the Righteous Judge Himself, reserved not only for Paul but for all who have longed for Christ's appearing. The race is hard. But the One who stands beside us is faithful, and the finish line is glorious.