It's Track & Field Olympic Trials Week!

Hello Team, 

The last month has flown by! My first few races earlier this month were solid. St Louis Festival of Miles is always a great time, but it's a much better time when you win. I didn’t race the smartest - I got pushed to the back and stayed there until 200 meters to go, where I had to pass eight or nine people to place fourth in a time of 3:57. Onto the next! A friend of mine, Paul Ryan, and I packed our bags and drove to Nashville the next day for another race. This, to me, was just to get a feel of what racing on tired legs would be like for the trials. This was a good test for me, but from the start, I did not feel ready to run fast. My legs felt heavy, but I thought I could get through that... not this time. To sum things up, I just had one gear that day and ran a 3:40 1500m, which is equivalent to another 3:57 mile. 

Last week, I had my final race before the trials at the Portland Track Rest. Although I already had the Olympic Trials standard, I wanted to take a crack at my personal record and see what kind of shape I was in on fresh legs. Leading up to the race, I did a lot of visualization practice and focused on my race rather than dwelling on past performances and training. This is something I work on a lot, but that silly mind messes you up more often than not. Locking in on the race that weekend was really important. Five minutes before the gun went off, a coach and friend of mine came and prayed with me. He prayed that I would “run free,” and that's exactly what happened. Most races this year I was thinking too much - about position, pace, effort, all of those things rather than just running free and competing. This helped me greatly, as I was able to get in an amazing position and really go for it, coming through 800m in 1:54 and still feeling great. I kept pressing and finished with a new personal record of 3:36.4 and third place, competing for the win. Great tune-up race before the Olympic Trials. In Galatians 5:1, Paul shares why we are really free: “For freedom, Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore.” 

Running the Race That is Set Before Us - Hebrews 12:1

Running necessitates that you not remain where you are. You have to move forward to advance! This is the same in the Christian walk. You must move your feet and keep pressing for God's glory. It also will not be easy, and this may be cliche, but this run will be like a marathon and not a sprint.

Running: pressing on, taking up our cross, enduring, laboring in prayer, digging into the Word, fleeing worldliness, repenting of sin, up-rooting roots of bitterness, resisting temptation, mortifying the flesh, advancing the Gospel, and fighting the good fight.  

Olympic Trials Racing Schedule

The Trials will be streamed on NBC Sports. You can view details on how to watch here. 

Friday, June 21 - Round 1- 7:22 PM CT

Saturday, June 22 - Round 2 - 8:54 PM CT

Monday, June 24 - Final - 7:47 PM CT

Thank you all for your continued support! If you are in Hays or Scott and have ordered a shirt, they are coming to your doorstep today or tomorrow. 

Hold Fast

Work Hard

Be Humble

Brett, Kelly, and Judah