“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1
In the world of running, good pacers are considered highly valuable and deeply sought after. Why? Because these people are experts in their sport and selfless servants who are completely set on helping someone else complete a race—at the expense of their own time and effort.
This is something I was thinking about on the ride home after the 100-mile run God had allowed me to complete. I had run the first 50 miles solo but picked up one of my two pacers to help me finish the last 50 (pacers are allowed only after mile 50).
By definition, a running pacer is an experienced runner who maintains a consistent, predetermined speed to help other runners meet a specific goal time in a race. Often found in marathons or ultramarathons, they provide motivation, guide energy management, and help navigate the mental and physical challenges of competition. In marathons, pacers lead groups to finish in specific times—3:30, 4:00 hours, and beyond—by running steady, even splits. In ultramarathons, a pacer joins a fatigued runner and aids in nutrition, navigation, motivation, and safety. They take over pace calculations entirely, freeing the runner to reduce mental effort and simply focus on moving forward. In elite races, they push a blistering pace to help competitors chase personal or world records.
A good pacer, then, can make all the difference in whether a person ever reaches the finish line. That was certainly true this past weekend at the Prairie Spirit 100-mile trail run. By the time I picked up my first pacer, Amanda, I was struggling mentally—fighting to keep my mind on the race and off the GI and foot issues I was dealing with. I had just come through the longest and loneliest stretch of the entire course, a grueling 10 miles between aid stations, and I was feeling dehydrated both physically and motivationally.
But things changed quickly.
Amanda joyfully and confidently took over the run/walk interval calculations the moment she stepped in, freeing me to focus on adjusting my attitude. She found creative, consistent ways to encourage and push me forward throughout her shift. Twenty-seven miles later, my second pacer—my sweet husband Larry—came on board and carried that same spirit of encouragement and steady support all the way to the finish line, where we gave God all the glory.
The secret to their effectiveness? Both of them were experienced, practiced runners who had put in the work to maintain a consistent pace and a good attitude under pressure. I followed their lead, and it paid off. And when it comes to following a lead, Paul wrote this to the church at Corinth:
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1
Paul had worked hard—consistently and deliberately—to become more like Jesus by studying His Word and His life so that he could mirror His actions. In doing so, Paul developed the skills, knowledge, and lifestyle of someone who genuinely imitated Christ, and he used all of it to help and inspire others to follow Jesus.
As Christ’s disciples, you and I are called to do the same—to imitate His character so faithfully that our lives become worth imitating. In that way, we pace others along in their spiritual race so they don’t grow weary and quit. This starts where Paul started:
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:7–8
Paul’s singular pursuit in life was to know God, to imitate the life of Jesus, and to make His great Name known—and everything else was secondary. And we know that knowing Jesus begins with a daily, disciplined practice of Bible study and meditation. It is only when a believer seeks to know Christ intimately that they begin to look like Him—and when you begin to look like Him, others notice and want what you have.
“For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8
So make training in the Word, prayer and discipling others a greater priority than anything else. You will not only grow spiritually yourself—you will set a pace that others want to follow.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me that I was meant to inspire others to follow You by the way I live. Help me to set the pace of what it looks like to follow Jesus to everyone around me. Compel me to seek You above all else, so that I might imitate You in such a way that others see You in me. In Your precious name I pray, Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
Melissa Sharp is an ultra runner and running coach who has completed more than 100 marathons and ultra marathons. Melissa has learned how to keep running the race of life for the glory of Christ even though she endured decades of domestic abuse. Melissa is a survivor. Through her daily blog thejoyfilledrunner she inspires others to live in the strength of Christ.
