Circle of Trust

On May 6th, 1954, Roger Bannister did something no other human being had ever done. He ran a mile in under 4 minutes. This is obviously an incredible physical feat, but it is significant in other respects as well. You see, the 4 minute mile was an achievement people chased for decades. It was considered the holy grail of athletic performance at the time. The obstacle wasn’t only a physical one, it was psychological as well. Once others saw that a sub-4 mile was achievable, they did it too. A month and a half after Bannister broke 4 minutes, another runner did it, beating Bannister by a second. A year later, 3 runners went sub-4 in a single race.

There was no sudden breakthrough in human evolution that allowed this to happen. What changed was the mental model. There was a mindset that the four minute mile couldn’t be broken, and once it finally was, people saw that something previously thought to be unachievable was actually possible.

This is true for all of us. Out here today, I’m sure at some point we all reached a point when that voice in our head started telling us to slow down or stop. I hope you silenced that voice and pushed past the limits your mind oftentimes imposes on you. Learn to keep that voice quiet, and you’ll see that pushing through the pain will take you places you may not have realized you could go.

Dear Lord,

We thank you for the opportunity to come out here today and work towards making ourselves and each other better. Please watch over the men of F3, and their loved ones, and guide us in our pursuits of fitness, fellowship, and faith. We ask that you also watch over those mentioned here today, and provide your blessings over any thoughts left unsaid. In your name we pray, amen.