"Did you finish the race?"

"Did you finish the race?"
I laughed at the humor in the question. The Camino is anything but a "race"! Although at times it felt like a "race" as I tried to keep up with my peppy companions. If it weren't for the blisters, I could have walked just as fast. The three of us are so similar in our gait!
But how Biblical it sounds!

Hebrews 12:1-3 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 - All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither. That is how I run, intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beating the air. I treat my body hard and make it obey me, for, having been an announcer myself, I should not want to be disqualified. (JB)

The race marked out for us. As I walked the Camino, I thought of how blessed I was to even be there! If it weren't for Jean and CJ, I'd never be walking at exactly this time, meeting these particular people, having these specific experiences.

You must run the same way, meaning to win. The 'winning', of course, was an individual affair. It wasn't a contest where if one wins the others lose. I also thought of how I was walking a thin line between "letting go of the outcome" (if something happens to prevent my walking the entire way, I won't get the Credential) and "pushing myself through the pain" (if it's not life-threatening, keep on going).

In one sense, I did indeed finish the race. In another, the race continues!