Running In the Dark

Character is what we do when no one is watching, as the saying goes. At 34 Edison Pena is a man whom the world now knows as miner No. 12, or "The Running Miner." Edison, along with 32 fellow coal miners, was trapped a half-mile below the earth's surface in Copiapo, Chile for 69 days. His story of survival, hope, determination, and triumph was punctuated this weekend as he ran the New York Marathon. The interesting thing was that it was in the dark, dank recesses of that looming and potential grave where Edison made a pact with himself to not simply wait for a rescue but to become a better man in the process.

In a report from the NY Daily News Pena said,

"I ran to forget that I was trapped...I ran in the dark. It was tremendous for me." He paused for a moment. "I went to the depths, the lowest of the low, but I kept running. If you show God you can fight, He will listen much more than if you give up. God doesn't like us to give up."

In his captivity he would train by dragging a wooden pallet behind him - cargo that not only added resistance, but helped him deal with all of the emotion that was building up as days stretched into weeks and then months. Pena would tie a telephone cord around his waist, hook it to the pallet, and off he'd go, with a flashlight in hand and no idea if he'd ever see daylight, or his family again.

"I became two people: the weak person who wanted simply to give up, and the person who chose to be strong - to run and to survive," he said. "Eventually, I chose to live." Pena is a devout Christian and humble man who wants to please God and not put anyone out.

He didn't even want to ask New York Road Runners for shoes; when he learned that marathon sponsor, Asics, would be happy to provide him with some, he could hardly believe it. He finished the marathon on Sunday in 5-hours, 40 minutes, enduring severe knee pain that Pena said has plagued him since the days he was trapped in the mine. At one point during the race he said he thought about dropping out due to the pain. But after he applied ice packs to the knee, he was able to finish the race.

I am humbled this morning and encouraged. God will shine a glimmer of light into a sea of darkness to bring hope to a weary soul. Even as we wait for God's deliverance, maybe there is a purpose to be fulfilled. We often search for meaning in the trials we face, sometimes coming up empty handed. Like Edison Pena, we can turn our most harrowing difficulties into a brand-new and exciting journey. Who knows what is waiting on the surface of the mine.