Marathoner Shares Her Experience of Running for Mercy

My name is Elizabeth Baldwin, and I ran for Mercy in the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, TX on February 27th! I decided to participate in Run for Mercy because of my cousin Tara, a graduate of the program. I was so amazed at her transformation while at Mercy Ministries and was impressed that it was Christ-centered. Ever since Tara graduated, running for Mercy Ministries had always been in the back of my mind as something I might do one of these days. I struggled though a personal loss in December and felt very confused about what God’s plan was for my life. That was when the Lord put a giant neon sign in front of my face that said “RUN FOR MERCY!” I tried to ignore it and came up with pretty much every excuse in the book. Finally, I decided to listen to God, signed up for my first marathon and got started on my fundraising.

The Run for Mercy website was a huge help in raising funds. I sent out an initial email via the fundraising website telling everyone about what I was doing and why. Then, every two weeks I sent out “training updates” to keep people informed about what I was doing to physically prepare for the race. As the race approached, I began emailing every week and thanking people for their support and encouragement. I think these emails helped my friends and family feel more connected to me as I was training. I also used Facebook to bring awareness to my run. My friends and family posted my fundraising website to their Facebook profiles as well. This was a great idea because it introduced Run for Mercy to people I did not know personally. I was so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that supported my run, and I was able to raise $1,100 for Mercy Ministries!

Race day finally came, and I was so nervous and excited all at once! The Cowtown Marathon draws about 20,000 runners for six different races every year. This year about 1,500 of us participated in the full marathon. As the start of the race approached, I prayed and prayed and prayed, “Oh dear Lord, please say I finish. Even if I have to crawl across the finish line, just help me finish!” Finally, the horn blared and I was off running!

My Aunt Susan had given me some of Nancy Alcorn’s teachings, which I uploaded to my iPod, and listened to during most of the race. I was able to draw so much strength and encouragement from listening to her speak. The course was beautiful, and my family was at every spectator spot cheering me on! I felt really great during most of the race, even at mile 20 when everyone says the race gets hard. I hit the dreaded “wall” at mile 22 and felt like my energy instantly drained from my body. I kept thinking about Tara and all of the young women who are at Mercy Ministries. They are what got me through those last few miles. Seeing the mile 25 marker gave me a much needed boost to finish the race.

I have always been an emotional person, so at mile 25 I turned into a bawling mess. I was so thankful to be almost done and humbled knowing that running 26.2 miles was the least I could do to help raise awareness for Mercy Ministries. Crossing the finish line was such an amazing feeling, and I am so privileged that I was able to Run for Mercy! Finally, I could not have completed this race with out my faith in God. I truly cannot take any credit; I put my trust in Him, and He is the one who got me across the finish line!