I have a love/hate relationship with running. I hate running, but I love having run. About a month ago, in a desperate attempt to add some interest to my upcoming run, I came across Lopez Lomong‘s story through the Nike Plus app. I spent the next 45 minutes trying to catch my breath and fight back tears.
Lomong tells his unbelievable story in his book, Running for My Life. After being kidnapped at 6 years old from his church in South Sudan, Lopez would eventually go on to represent the United States in the Olympic Games.
He would eventually go on to be what history would later call one of the lost boys of Sudan. These were young men who were kidnapped by rebel forces fighting in the civil wars of Sudan. Without giving too much away, Lomong escapes his captors with the help of three “angels” and literally runs all the way to Kenya where he would spend the next decade in a refugee camp. Running would become a major force in his life and leads him to the world’s biggest stage.
The story is awe-inspiring, tragic and hopeful. His unwavering faith in God and contagious optimism make you want to meet this guy in person. While the story isn’t particularly well written (he is a runner, not a writer) it is none the less compelling.
Favorite Quotes
“The thing about dreams, though, is they usually sound crazy to everyone but you. All it takes is one other person to buy into them to keep you going.”
“I do not know how we could run so far and so fast and so long. We did not run with our own strength but with strength from God. That is the only explanation.
“I learned lots of things in those first few weeks. First and foremost, I learned what it meant to be a refugee. From the moment I stepped into Kakuma, I became a boy without a country. A refugee camp is a kind of no-man’s-land. No one lives there by choice. You end up in places like Kakuma when you have no better option. Everyone who lived there just wanted to go home.”
“War is always far worse on the poor than the rich. Always.”
Three Takeaways
Out of Sight is Truly Out of Mind
I’m only a few years older than Lopez Lomong. I remember watching him run in the Olympics. And, I am sure I heard a little about his story from the announcers, but I remembered none of it.
And, while I had some vague recollection of the “lost boys” and knew that Sudan was and continues to be ravaged by war, coming up close and personal through Lopez’s story brought this tragedy home. Hearing about what he and thousands of other refugees have experienced will break your heart – if you take the time to listen.
It is so easy in our relative American comfort to turn a blind eye to the struggles of the world. We must resist the temptation. And, not to get too political, but we no longer have to look to countries like Sudan to see it, we have a refugee crisis on our front doorstep. And, regardless of the political implications, it doesn’t change the fact that real men, women, and children are languishing in unbearable conditions. It is heartbreaking, at least to me.
Faith Can Sustain You
What becomes very obvious when reading Running for My Life is that Lopez Lomong is a man of deep faith. His Christianity leaps from the pages. What is almost shocking is his unwillingness to feel sorry for himself or blame God even while in the depths of his circumstances.
Maybe this is so stunning to me because of my own temptations to feel sorry for myself. It is humbling to admit that. But, my reality is that the worst day I’ve ever experienced would have been a paradise for Lomong while in Kakuma. His faith carried him through the darkest of times. And, while I can’t in any way compare my life to his I have experienced the sustaining efforts of faith in Christ.
Running is Good Therapy
Few things relieve tension and stress like going for a good run. Sweating, pounding the pavement work to ease the mind and relax me. Maybe it’s just that I am so focused on not dying that I have little concern for anything else.
I started running more than ten years ago during a particularly stressful period in my life. I was the executive director of a non-profit during one of the worst recessions in recent memory. I was a ball of nerves. Running helped me process those emotions.
Lopez describes a similar sensation while he runs. It was the only time when the world made sense to him. He knew he had been given a gift. It was what he was created to do. Running a lap around the refugee camp (a distance of almost 18 miles!) just to be able to join in the soccer game (camp rules) also gave him time to think and some perspective on his life.
The same is true for me. Even now when I feel like I can’t sort out the thoughts in my head, going for a run seems to clear the cobwebs.
I was moved by the story of Lopez Lomong. His story is a story of perseverance and grace. And unlike so many of the lost boys, his has a happy ending.
