The Greatest show on earth...

 

Photo by Karim Ben Van on Unsplash

 It was the BMX event that got me. 

The excitement of the event, the support that the two British competitors had for each other, and their back story, brilliant! 

Every Olympics has it's own heart-warming story, and the power to get you up on your feet and to go faster, higher or stronger then you ever have before! 

It inspired me to join my local park run. The last time I had taken part was in Sept 2019, where sadly, injury put paid to any further runs. I was a couch to 5K graduate - a fantastic gradual course to get people running. 

I'd hated sport at school. Having to run around in the cold in shorts whilst the teachers wore tracksuits, trying to avoid getting hit by the ball. Athletics felt even worse. At least in team sports you could get lost in the flurry of activity, Sadly in athletics, all eyes were on you. Watching as your courage failed you as you stopped, just before the high jump, or your shot-put was an embarrassing attempt. It was traumatizing. Which is why achieving the couch to 5K meant so much to me. I was not only running, but I was enjoying the sense of achievement - it didn't feel like it, especially on the last lap, but  I did it, and the joy of gaining a new PB - personal best - was fantastic. Sadly, it wasn't to last. 

When I rediscovered how wonderful running could be, I wanted to excel and go as far as I could. The next step was being able to run 10k. I joined a group, and pushed myself each week, and I did run 10K, but it was too much too soon. Injury put an end to my running.

So why am I prattling on about my running dramas? Why did I choose this topic this week? Why not more about The Boy and His Dog at the end of the World?

 Because the Olympics is full of stories! Whether it's Sky Brown, a 13 year old Bronze medal winner, who a year ago was in hospital with a fractured skull, or Refugee Olympic Team swimmer Yusra Mardini or the relay team who missed out on the gold medal by one hundredth of a second!

I don't know how many of the competitors at the Olympics were Christians. I have no doubt though that there were many moments where God beamed as they all excelled in what he created them to do. 

Martin is a writer, baker, photographer and storyteller. He's been published in the ACW Christmas anthology and Lent devotional. He's currently honing his craft at flash fiction and you can find him on Twitter here.