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Chased by a Bear

Posted by Dave on January 18, 2011

As is my wont, on two days ago, I ran a monthly hash run with some friends.  No, I actually hared a hash run with some friends.

For those who don't understand, a hash run is a fun run. The 'hares' get a 10 minute head start and mark a trail for the other runners (the pack) to follow.  Along the way, the hares also mark false trails and put out meeting points where the members the pack are to regroup. These false trails and meeting points allow the hares a little bit of time to get away, or more to the point, stay away, from the pack. In all actuallity it's a fun way to get in a short run.

This was my third time as the hare and this time I got caught.  Not once, not twice, but three times.  And it sucked.

About a mile in, we were refilling our marking equipment (squirt bottles filled with Kool-Aid) and saw the pack bearing down on us from a few blocks back. As you can imagine, I let out a few choice, um, colorful metaphors.  And with that the other hare and I took off running like a few bats out of hell.  About two blocks later, I realized that I was not in as good of shape as I imagined myself to be.  I was winded and hyperventilating.  We were caught the first time.

We placed a meetup circle on the pavement, which meant that the pack had to stop and regroup.  We were off again and were fairly good for the next two miles. As we tried to outwit and outrun the pack, we were spotted at the local college campus.  According to hash rules, all bets are off, you stop following the trail and head directly for the hares.  As we ran past the dormatories, I knew I was about caught and so I did what all 38 year-olds ledderhosen wearing men do when being persued by other ledderhosen wearing men: I hid.  Caught, the second time.

Next I snuck out and with 1/2 mile to go, made a beeline for the finish line.  One block from the end, I was caught a third time. For me, at least, the atmosphere at the finish line was not one of confidence and exhilaration, but one of let-down and failure.  I felt as though I had betrayed the pack by being caught.

It may sound weird, but the next day, I felt that God was trying to teach me something in this experience.  He told me that he was chasing me, just as the pack had been; he would pursue me until he caught me, no matter what I did to try to hide from him. It was actually kind of comforting, knowing that there is nothing that I could do to keep him away and that I could not hide.

I have been, and am being, chased by a bear and yet I live to tell about it. That is grace.

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