A middle-aged woman in the middle of her career, living in the middle of the country and very much in the middle of raising a family. Not a very inspiring image for ‘International Women’s Day’. But that’s where sport provides a wonderful step change. It gives so much more than physical fitness. It gives community, connection, challenge, personal focus and one thing that I can tick off on that never ending to-do list.

Having had two kids, I’ve often questioned my wisdom when it comes to my training and the requirements of working it around family life.

There is no doubt that sometimes it has an impact on them and I know that I have to be really careful to gauge when that’s ok and not to let it become my identity. I often fail. As a Christian, it reminds me that I need God’s grace to navigate life and live for Him. I have to apologise when I’m letting my sport take a wrong level of priority and I need to ensure that something good that he’s given me doesn’t become an idol. It teaches me to praise Him in the highs and the lows. Because God is equally good when I’m running PBs or when I’m injured. When I struggle with the jiggly-jelly-belly (my child’s delightful name for my less-than rock-hard abs) I can remember that God made me and he knows me. I can delight in the family that he has graciously given me but I can also tell him how I feel when I wish I looked more like those elite runners in crop tops. I can bring it all to Him, trust him and remember that he values my body and I have a responsibility to look after it.

When I am confident that my ultimate identity is as a sinner saved by Jesus and nothing can change my standing with God (Romans 8:38-39), I am released to enjoy even more the identity of being an athlete and mum.

The freedom of being loved by God regardless and not ‘just’ an athlete means that I can train hard and enjoy that beautiful grind. I can revel in the frisson of race day and the rollercoaster of finding out if it’ll all come together just when I need it to. I don’t need to worry about what instagram or strava has to say about my performance. As a mum I can embrace the messy chaos and when I’m not sure if I’m getting it right I can know that as long as I’m doing it with my overall focus being on Jesus then my children’s ultimate Father in heaven has it all under control. God has given me both those roles. They are both good and they are both from Him.

As I read Back Pages, I sometimes wonder what life would have been like if I’d been part of a sports team at school. The grass is always greener, I know, but I wonder if I’d had a close-knit sports team that I was part of whether it would have given me a richer seam of contacts to invite to my Christian youth group at school or to church when I was at Uni. I didn’t get into sport until I was fully in the working world and only into any kind of club setting a few years after that. It can be hard to make new friends once you're headlong into a career and have a family. It’s especially hard now that most of us work from home. We don’t share life with our colleagues in the way that we used to. So this is a reminder to myself and to you that sport is a gift from God and a great way to make connections. When you’re training regularly together through all seasons and events you can start to have conversations which might otherwise feel too deep or awkward. We can use that connection and be an ambassador for Christ, both in the way we act and in speaking the good news.

Just after I was asked to write this piece for IWD, I was at our club awards night. I looked around the room and saw some of my closest friends. I saw people who checked in on me when I couldn’t walk, let alone run, who showed up when I’d just had a baby, even though they would rather be running reps than watching me change nappies. God has put these people in my life, and if I really care for them the way I say I do, what’s the most important thing they need to know? They need to know that double run days are not always the answer… no wait… they need to know Jesus. “And how can they have faith in someone they haven’t heard of?” (Romans 10:14). When have you ever seen two people discover they are both runners and not instantly start talking about running? Never.

They love running so much they just can’t help it. I need to take a leaf out of that book and, just like Paul in 1 Corinthians 9, I should feel so excited that I’m compelled to tell my teammates the Gospel.

Gill Bland

Gill Bland is part of Trinity Community Church Hinckley and runs with the Huncote Harriers. She works for the BBC, is an EA long distance running coach and has a YouTube channel aimed at performance driven female runners (@roundupthemiles).