The Men Who Ran So Another Could Finish

On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister stepped onto the cinder track at Iffley Road in Oxford, England, attempting what no human had ever done — run a mile in under four minutes. But he did not run alone.

Chris Brasher surged to the front at the starting gun, shielding Bannister from the wind and setting a punishing pace through the first two laps. When Brasher's legs gave out, Chris Chataway took over, pulling Bannister through the third lap at precisely the speed needed. Only in the final 300 yards did Bannister break free, sprinting past Chataway and collapsing across the finish line in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.

The record belonged to Bannister. But the race belonged to all three men.

The writer of Hebrews understood this kind of running. "Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses," he wrote, "let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1). The witnesses he names — Abraham, Moses, Rahab, and dozens more — are not passive spectators. Like Brasher and Chataway, they have already run their laps. Their faithfulness sets the pace for ours.