Every Spring the Boston Marathon takes place and I tell myself to be happy for these people, and that I will never qualify to run it. You see, participants must qualify for it by running another marathon in a time that only a select few will ever approach. For me, merely finishing a marathon is a very hard challenge, I stand in awe watching people who can run them as a race, I look yearningly when I see runners in my neighbourhood wearing the hard-earned jackets from the event. They, in their turn, look upon the people who finish ahead of them, like the gentleman who set a new course record there this year (April 20, 2026). When it comes to sports and fitness there is a sense in which it is all relative and we can all compare ourselves to those faster than us, or slower than us depending on our mood.
Personally, when I consider those (many people, shockingly many if I am honest) who are faster than me, I intentionally aim to be inspired rather than cowed. When it comes to the many who are slower than me, I aim to be encouraging rather than arrogant or complacent.
Triathlons, marathons, bike camping with a family of 5 (“you biked all the way around Lake Ontario with them and camped the whole way??? That doesn’t sound like a holiday” they say), swimming two mornings a week at 6am…my life is full of activity. It was not always so. I have dropped something in the neighbourhood 45 pounds over the years, slowly, sustainably, unglamorously. In conversation, some people seem surprised at the hobbies my wife and I share and the demands we make of our children, and every so often someone asks why and/or how does this all happen.
I have spoken with many people who have a look in their eyes, a look that says they want to move their bodies more but struggle to. Sometimes the struggle is their current shape, sometimes it is answering the “why” as in finding motivation. Sometimes the look is wistful and desiring, quickly trailing into defeat. I do not want that for you so I thought I would share some thoughts in the hope that they help.
It is Spring in Ottawa and while many make New Years resolutions, I think that is poor timing, right after all that food and drink we are supposed to get healthy? Right when the days are short, the nights long, and the weather demanding? No thanks, maybe we could work up to it first.
It is in spring that the days get longer,
It’s in spring that the bugs are not yet out,
It’s in spring that the weather is neither too hot nor too cold
(though it may be wet).
Spring brings beautiful sunrises for the early athlete,
awe-inspiring sunsets for the after-dinner athlete.
Spring bring flowers, smiles, other athletes out.
Spring is the time to get healthier after a long hibernation of winter (or many winters), spring offers us the renewal our bodies crave, the fitness that look in our eyes says we know deep down is rightfully ours.
Some ideas on motivation:
A) Do what you love: I am not that healthy, I know many people capable of far more than I am, more committed, more gifted, but I choose activities I actually enjoy and that often tricks people into thinking I am. My experience is we can all find something; for some it is racket sports, for others running, for some adrenaline inducing sports, for some simple walking, there is no one size fits all answer, do what gets you excited, do what you find it easy to get out of bed for, not what you think you should do, but what you actually like, so long as it gets the body moving. By doing what I like rather than what I think I should do, for some reason the comparison trap falls away, maybe for you it will too.
B) If you are a christian, it is a biblical practice. Let me be clear you are saved by grace through faith and nothing takes that away. In response to that, and also following the logic of trusting/believing the bible, then taking care of the body is no more optional than being generous, kind, gentle, or patient. Dorothy Bass once wrote,
The Christian practice of honoring the body is born in the confidence that our bodies are made in the image of God’s own goodness…. As the place where the divine Presence dwells, our bodies are worthy of care and blessing and ought never to be degraded or exploited. It is through our bodies that we participate in God’s activity in the world (PRACTICING OUR FAITH).
I think that is spot on. It is not about denial (not so many chips and salsa nights, or whatever your treat is), but about honouring the body, about getting to do something, about holding one’s head a little higher, one’s back a little straighter, knowing you are doing right by your body. As a christian I tend to take religious practices seriously and I find this to be a motivating factor.
C) You get to choose your hard. Many people have pointed this out, sometimes doing your sport—no matter how much you like it—is hard. But so are knee replacements, and diabetes management, to name only two of a whole host of ailments that come with giving in to the desire to avoid the hard…because the truth is there is no avoiding it,. We can delay hard, but we cannot put it off forever. I would prefer, and if you think about it you will would too, choosing the hard I enjoy (like endless laps in a pool early in the morning with a few other half-awake smiling people) or the long run with a buddy, over the hard of being out of breath climbing stairs, or too tired to enjoy a place I visit on holiday, let alone the more serious hard like the various forms of hospitalization that are considered preventable.
D) If you want the view from the top of the mountain, you must climb the mountain…metaphorically at least because really there is no mountain, or the mountain is whatever you make of it. A real mountain with a view, but it can also be the sense of accomplishment after any activity that you worked hard in, the top of the mountain simply being the accomplishing of a goal, the reaching of a peak in whatever training or sport you are enjoying.
E) Provides the opportunity to help others: from the time I saved a drowning woman from the Ottawa River to the time I swam across a lake being the eyes for a blind man, to the hundreds of kids I have had the opportunity to coach in various sports, to the thousands of dollars I have raised by either hosting or participating in fundraising events (like this one Summer 2026) to eventually, I hope, being able to help my elderly wife as we age together. As much as, and for as long as possible I want to be one giving back, I get more than I give. Every. Time.
G) Model for my children: There are many ways kids learn but it seems obvious to me that one of the primary ways they learn is by watching. If they see us on our phones, always sitting, choosing the closest parking spot, eating poorly, and generally acting as though all sports/games/outdoor activities are for children, then they will come to believe that and will see stoping physical activity as part of “growing up” and rush to it all the quicker. I want my kids to enjoy life, to be able to do whatever they want to do when they grow up, including cycling to work or going for hikes, or even just keeping up with their kids at the park or as coaches. To be able to take pride in their serving whatever communities they find themselves in, avoid hospital scares as much as is in their control.
If I tried I could go on with motivations. If none of these strike you as helpful what might motivate you? Writing your own list can be a powerful action to get the journey started.
If we are willing to be honest and to avoid what we know deep down are just excuses, then I think we can all admit that we can (and should) treat our bodies better than we are.
No matter our current health there is a step to improving, just check out the Paralympics for inspiration! Or maybe the World’s Seniors Games which happens to be the largest annual multi-sport competition in the world.
HOW TO:
A lot of people do not like this advice at all, but their dislike of it has no bearing on its truth and helpfulness: pray about it.
The bible says that self-discipline is one of the fruits of the spirit, and for me, if I am honest, self-control is always a challenge and so I pray for it. I pray that the Spirit of God would increase my self-control the same way I pray for more patience. If you have never prayed much, or prayed that the fruits of the spirit would be in your life, consider trying it; I have found it helpful. In my experience the more I am praying about this daily the more likely I am to follow through, chalk it up to basic psychology, or the Spirit moving in my life, either way, it’s working. And one beautiful bonus to this is that when I sense I am physically improving I associate it with God working in my life, and that feels good because I want God in my life.
This Spring, as you notice the weather shifting, as you notice the planet being more welcoming, consider it an invitation to embrace your own body, to move it more, and to improve your Spiritual wellbeing at the same time. You’ll see, it’s not that hard, and there is much to gain, and hardship to avoid. As they say to cyclists in France Allez!
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