October 8, 2010
By Kathy L. Gilbert

It will be hard to catch Bishop Jeremiah Park this weekend unless you are also running in a 5K race.

For the third year in a row, Park is joining thousands on Oct. 9 in the ING Hartford Marathon in Connecticut. He is challenging United Methodists in the New York Annual (regional) Conference to join him in his campaign to promote healthy lifestyles and to raise funds for missions around the world.

The ING Hartford Marathon started in 1994 and includes a full marathon of 26.2 miles; half marathon, 13.1 miles; 5K, 3.1 miles; relays and kids runs. The one-day race also raises funds for a variety of charities. The annual race inspired the bishop to put a United Methodist spin on the run.

United Methodist clergy are not the healthiest group of people in the world, he points out. And he especially wants young people to meet him at the starting line so they will get on track to good health.

"I want young people to start taking care of their bodies knowing that they are a temple to the Holy Spirit," he said. "If they can develop good habits, it will be a blessing that can last a lifetime."

He also wanted a fun and exciting way to spur interest in missions. Those United Methodists running in the race will raise funds for the bishop's Partners in Mission, a program created to support the many Volunteers in Mission teams that go out into the world from the conference.

The bishop wants everyone to contribute $100 a year, a bold request, he knows. "But I am ready to receive any amount," he says, laughing.

The Rev. Bryan Hooper, pastor of the United Methodist Church of Hartford, will participate in the half marathon this year. He is also cooking and hosting a pre-race carbo-load pasta dinner the night before the race.

"It's a pastor-cooked meal so people take their own lives into their hands," he says. On the menu is lasagna, salad and bread. "You can only eat this if you are running; it's not safe otherwise," he says.

Hooper also has a special reason for running this year. Last year, on the night before the marathon, Hooper got a phone call that his father had died. He says he is "doing my best to not succumb to heart disease as my father did."

Hooper said his wife shamed him into starting to run about six months ago. He began mostly walking two miles and now can run for six or seven miles with no problem.

As far as the half-marathon is concerned he says, "I am not going to be fast, but I am going to finish."

Park has one more request that also applies to Hooper and others in the race – "Pray for me!"

United Methodist News Service
Kathy L. Gilbert is a writer of 18-34 content at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.