Marathon races have been around for centuries. Perhaps we wonder why anyone would want to run a marathon, especially after you read how they started.
It seems it all began in 490 B.C. with a Greek soldier named Pheidippides who “was sent from the battlefield near Marathon, Greece to Athens to tell of the victory over the Persians. The distance was approximately 25 miles, and he ran the entire way. Once he arrived and delivered the message, the not quite fit soldier collapsed and died…His feat was revived over the years, and initially, the marathon race was 25 miles long.”1
Today, marathons, triathlons, half-marathons, 5Ks, and a variety of other races are run. Athletes will train for months, sacrificing to achieve the stamina and endurance needed. Discipline keeps their training on schedule despite the weather or any other distraction. All their focus is on the race, especially crossing that finish line with the best time possible.
When the race is finished, only certain ones are awarded. In the Boston Marathon, for instance, there will be approximately 30,000 participants. When the race has finished, the top 10 finishers in both genders receive cash prizes. The top male and female runner receive $150,000 each. There is a wheelchair division and the top 10 receive cash prizes. And there are seven para-athletics divisions where racers receive prizes.
In 2025, Marcel Hug from Switzerland was the first to cross the finish line with a time of
1:21:34. The last to officially cross the line was Rayna Burke from Boston. Her time? 6:05:40.
While we applaud Marcel and the others who received cash prizes, today is a day that acknowledges all who cross the finish line. This is National Finisher’s Medal Day. It’s a medal given in many races to acknowledge all who crossed the finish line. They may not have won the top prizes, but they didn’t give up along the way. They kept going and eventually crossed that line.
I have been preaching a series of messages on Wednesday nights and today’s opening story fits hand in glove! And with the Winter Olympics in our rearview mirror, we can’t help but think of all the athletes that competed, who did something none of us even attempted. In the 2026 Winter Olympics, over 3,500 athletes competed from 93 different countries in 116 different events. Most crossed a finish line of sorts but only gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded. While 10% were awarded, 90% went home with nothing.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 tells us of Paul’s anticipated crossing of life’s finish line. “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. (7) I have fought a good fight, I have 
finished my course, I have kept the faith: (8) Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
Unlike marathons and the Olympics, we are not trying to beat anyone out of an award. We just want to finish well. And we want to do it for God’s honor and glory, not our own. The crowns we will receive and whatever the rewards might look like (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) will not find anyone taking a place on a winner’s podium. Instead, I have to believe that we will take the posture of the 24 elders found in Revelation 4:10-11. Let these verses motivate us today to run the race well, knowing that we will all finish the race but how we finish could be a different story.
“The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, (11) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
1https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/finishers-medal-day-first-sunday-in-march
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