November 1, 2009 was an interesting day to say the least! Why? Well, I found myself in the living room of Saint Alphonsus Liguori's rectory flipping through the channels. Unfortunately, and what I have experienced on numerous occasions, is that there was not a whole lot on TV. But, wait, what was that?! On one of the channels, the New York City Marathon was being televised and I was immediately drawn in to watch this amazing event. This particular marathon is one of the biggest in the world, drawing thousands of runners and walkers. The event started in 1970 with a mere 127 participants who paid $1.00 each to participate. This coming year will include over 44,000 participants.
But, that day, on November 1, 2009, struck a chord within me. I watched the last hour of the race and what moved me the most was the reaction of the winner in the men's division. Meb Keflezighi won the race in 2:09.15. As he crossed the finish line, he kept pointing
proudly to his running jersey with "USA" on it. He pointed to his jersey excitedly and
was very proud to be a citizen of this great nation.
He beat the second runner by about 41 seconds. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya completed
his 26.2 mile race in 2:09.56. I said to myself seconds after the conclusion of that great event:
"I think I would like to run in that marathon next year."
I believe it was in December of 2009 or January of 2010 that I made application to run in
the 2010 New York City Marathon. I knew I did not have a huge chance to run, but I had
faith and was entered into a lottery system to be considered for entry into the race. I had to
wait and wait until April of this year to learn if I was accepted. My prayers were answered!
I was selected to run my first marathon.
On another note, I have been part of a ministry these last three years called the
Race for Vocations in conjunction with the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon.
You can learn more about this wonderful annual event by visiting this website:
Anyway, I decided that if I was going to be accepted into the 2010 New York City Marathon,
I would definitely want to do so for VOCATIONS. I was accepted, so here I am,
getting ready for the race of my life.
These past several months, I have been training for the marathon in a few different ways.
First of all, I have been a volunteer assistant coach with the boys and girls cross country
teams at Guerin Catholic High School in Noblesville, IN. That has provided me with a
good amount of motivation as I have trained with these teams during the summer months
and throughout the fall season. I want to thank Coach Gordon Elston for allowing me to
be part of this awesome program and the runners for inspiring me and encouraging me to
keep up with them in their training runs. Additionally, I have had to include longer runs into
my training to prepare my body for 26.2 miles of running. These past several weeks, I have
progressed in the longer runs from 10 miles to 12 miles to 15 miles to 18 miles. This coming
weekend, I will be running 20 miles. Please pray for me! I will have a few more 20 milers
and at least one 24 miler before the November 7th Marathon in New York City.
I am grateful to so many people supporting me in my "Race for Vocations" coming up in
less than two months. As I have asked people to support me spiritually in the Indianapolis
Mini Marathon for the last three years by submitting their prayer pledges, I am asking anyone
out there (family, friends and anyone else) to please support my "Race for Vocations" this year
in 2010. Like the Race for Vocations link shares above, you can offer prayers (like an Our Father,
Hail Mary, Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplets, Holy Hours, etc.) for vocations as I run a difficult
26.2 mile course through the streets of New York City. For instance, you could offer 26 rosaries
for vocations as I run 26.2 miles in the New York City Marathon.
There are many options for you to support me in my "Race for Vocations."
I would simply ask you to post your prayer commitments into the comments section of
this blog post so that I can keep track of how many prayers will be offered for vocations.
Well, thanks for hanging with me as I explained this next challenge I will face in less than
two months. I am very excited for November 7, 2010. Please pray for me and I will
PRAY FOR VOCATIONS as I am hopeful I will be able to finish this race - 26.2 miles
on the streets New York City.
God bless you,
Fr. Joshua M. Janko
I pledge a rosary for vocation for each week between now and the Marathon.
ReplyDeleteFr. Janko - My family will keep you in prayer on the first weekend in November as you run the marathon. May more men and women respond to God's call for holy priests and religious - Joe Cook, Director of Alumni Relations, Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. Past President, Serra Club of Evansville, IN.
ReplyDelete