Running in La Paz

“Running in La Paz” sounds sort of epic, right? At the very least, a bit romantic, or nostalgic. You can just picture the runner bounding through the Andes Mountains, blazing through herds of llamas, legs pumping, lungs burning in the mystic South American air. Let me tell you…it’s not exactly like that.

Before I started running in La Paz I found the cracked sidewalks and the sometimes gaping holes in the pavement kind of a nuisance to be carefully avoided while walking to the local cafe. I found the constant stream of makeshift tiendas (little stores) convenient, and the street dogs, well, I just tried to stay out of their way. The erratic pattern of traffic and haphazard driving of the locals was just an amusing anecdote. The 11,000 feet altitude, something I only really noticed when my breath became a little short while walking up to the market.

Then, I became a runner in La Paz. And all the things I once thought of as “foreign charm” or simply a part of living in an under developed country began to take on a new meaning. Now, I am the tall, foreign girl, dodging cars, tripping over sidewalks, attempting to avoid running over “cholitas” working their tiendas or workman unloading trucks. I am the girl running with a rock in my hand, poised and prepared for a well aimed shot at any street dog that dares approach, sucking for air, willing my muscles to perform well despite the lack of oxygen they are receiving, mumbling broken Spanish as I pass pedestrians on the sidewalk. Ah, running in La Paz. Not quite as peaceful as running my well-beaten Idaho paths.

But in the midst of all this, something funny has happened. I have learned to adapt. When you exercise in high altitude, the sparse oxygen forces your body to increase its number of red blood cells, thus increasing the amount of oxygen delivered to muscles during exercise and improving performance. When you put stress on something it begins to change; it gets stronger. This is true physically, but also mentally and spiritually. God uses the difficult times to change us, to grow us, to make us weaker so we are stronger in Him.

“What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 

When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
 it will become a place of refreshing springs.
 The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
 They will continue to grow stronger,
and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.^”   

 

Psalm 84:5-7

 Don't get me wrong, it's not easy. I currently have a scraped up calf and elbow as evidence (a token from a recent spill on a broken up sidewalk)^.  And I would say many of us carry deeper, unseen wounds as a result of difficult things we have walked through. But may we take great comfort knowing that God is in it, God is using it and we are never alone.

^{On November 9th, I am registered to run a 10k that supports the treatment and care of children with congenital heart problems. Check out the video below to get a taste of a race in La Paz!}