Inside: In running—and in life—falls are often unavoidable. Along the way, we might acquire skills that help us stay upright. But when we do land on the ground, we don’t have to stay there. ~

Since I started running outside about four years ago, I’ve taken two bad falls, both on wooden bridges near my home.

At the time, I blamed the wipeouts on personal clumsiness. And it’s true—I’m not the most coordinated person in the world.

One day, though, I decided to see if falling is common among runners. Turns out, I’m not the only one.

The Art of Falling

Here’s how the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper describes it in an article titled “If You’re a Serious Runner, There’s an Art to Falling While Running”:

“One moment you are streaking along feeling like you are invincible and the next moment you find yourself on the ground taking inventory of face, knees, arm and more to figure out how more than your pride got hurt in ‘The Fall.’”

Whether I am a “serious runner” is up for debate. I’ve never jogged on a wooded trail, where Google indicates runners are prone to fall after tripping on tree roots. Even so, I can relate to every word in the previous paragraph.

Safe Landing?

I didn’t find any articles citing stats about how often runners fall, just that many do, and increasingly so as they get older.

In his later years, when unsteadiness became a major issue, my dad used to say that he “knew how to fall.” I might have scoffed at this a bit, but now I’m guessing he had either used his engineering expertise to learn this skill, or else he read about it on the internet.

An article on the Runner’s World website titled “Ensure a Safe Landing” purports to help, but I’m not so sure. Rehearsing instructions like “in mid fall, twist or roll your body to the side” ahead of time might sound like a good idea. But when I’m hurtling toward the ground after tripping on an uneven board on the bridge, twisting or rolling is the farthest thing from my mind.

That said, I have gotten myself out of a few falls, usually on the flat asphalt path. When I feel myself starting to stumble, I concentrate on running through it until I gain my balance back. I don’t look very graceful doing this, but I always breathe a sigh of relief that I’ve run another day without falling.

Down But Not Out

In running—and in life—we fall, and we get up again. Along the way, we might acquire skills that help us stay upright. But falling is often unavoidable.

Our falls may be due to clumsiness, inexperience, lack of knowledge or perhaps even sin. But however we fall—through outbursts of anger, wasting time, spiraling into needless worry, tripping over a curb, you name it—being down doesn’t have to be permanent.

Sometimes we can get up, dust off and keep going. Other times, injuries—to our bodies or perhaps our relationships—need attention.

For example, I banged up my kneecap the last time I fell while running. My injury appeared to be a case of prepatellar bursitis, also known as “housemaid’s knee.” It didn’t hurt when I ran, but it took several weeks for the swelling to go down and my knee to look normal again.

Making Things Right

We might feel embarrassed when we fall, but there’s a good chance that if anyone saw us, they would feel badly for us and want to help. Plus, if we go about life worrying about what other people might think, we’ll never get back out there after a stumble—wherever “out there” might be.

If our horizontal relationships are harmed by a fall, however it happens, we might need to set aside our pride, apologize and ask for forgiveness. Same with our vertical relationship—with the God who made us and knows our every predisposition toward sin.

The good news is that with God, every day offers a fresh start.

His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).

Next Time

We fall down; we get up again. And, hopefully, we take greater care the next time we encounter a situation where we are prone to fall.

I’ve learned running on bridges is hazardous for me, so now, I try to be aware of slick spots, uneven boards, what’s ahead of me, where my feet are landing.

And sometimes, just making it across a slippery wooden bridge without falling is a win worth celebrating.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.