Life is like a marathon race, only the individual who prepares for the long haul ends up a winner. In this write-up, I am using the marathon and boxing to make my points. First, boxing. If you are a boxing fan who grew up in the ’70s, you should be familiar with the legendary boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, who dominated the sport in that era.

Ali used to train for 20 gruelling rounds with such tough sparring partners as Larry Holmes, who later became a great champion in his own right. While preparing for his fights, Ali would train for far beyond the mandatory rounds required for a fight in case he met a lion-hearted brawler in the ring, those stubborn opponents who could go the distance despite the fatigue.

Behold, Ali found such an opponent in the great Smokin’ Joe Fraizer in their titanic, non-title fight dubbed “Thriller in Manila,” considered one of the greatest fights in boxing history. Both Ali and Fraizer prepared for the long haul, like true champions and gave us one of the most entertaining boxing match in modern times, in which courage, sublime skills, true hallmarks of professionalism were on display. Ali won the fight by TKO but Fraizer won as much praise as the winner for his staying power, a quality Ali likewise demonstrated for the fight to last 14 thrilling rounds.

That fight set Ali up for the title fight with the then heavyweight champion, George Foreman, dubbed “Rumble in the Jungle,” in Zaire (DR Congo). By contrast, in that fight, Ali the marathon performer, taunted Foreman until he burnt himself out and got him knocked out in round 8. The lesson from these two stories is that champions prepare for the long haul; so it is with life. Fraizer almost lasted the mandatory 15 rounds with Ali because, he too, prepared for the long haul.

Foreman, on the other hand, lost the fight mid-way in round 8 because of what we call “burn-out”. He was exhausted, like most of us are in the journey of life. That’s taking nothing away from Foreman, he remains a great champion. Life is a race. I used boxing here as a metaphor because, in life, we are always taking many knocks; we fall down many times and rise again and again, to continue our daily battle for survival until the final bells tolls for us. The main message here is that you should always be prepared. Expect the best, but be prepared to take the worst, if it comes your way. Don’t get stuck by the worst of situations, move on and recharge your energy. Sometimes, you get a beating like champions do occasionally, before they win.

You need to master the ups and downs of life. Otherwise, you won’t succeed. If you have never fallen, you won’t know how to get up. If you have never received blows you won’t know how to duck. Adversity teaches us to endure. That’s why God allows the Devil to afflict us. We learn to grow in faith when we face a hopeless situation. A marathon runner just has to keep running when the race appears to be lost.

What keeps the champion marathon runner going after others have fallen by the roadside is their ability to keep using reserve energy gradually till the end of the race. Unlike the sprinter who races to breast the tape at the last lap of the race, the marathon runner has to keep the pace they can maintain till the end of the race. That’s planning for the long haul.

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Every car has an in-built reserve in case its fuel is running out. When the fuel is running out, a red light would flash to warn the driver. We, too, have residual power. We learn to use it when we come to a dead end. Samson used residual power to destroy the Philistines in that famous Bible story. In life, you plan ahead and plan for contingencies. Unexpected problems will always come up; sometimes problems come at you like a flood, you think Satan just opened the gates of hell and unleashed all the demons on you. Bad times like this don’t last, just be strong and courageous!

In some races, marathon runners are known to fall and rise again, only to emerge as winners. In life, also, we can be winners. We can win on any front, if we decide to, no matter how many times we fall. In fact, it is natural for humans to rise and fall, to win and lose

You hear people say, “Life is not a bed of roses,” it has never been. The earlier you realise that as a youth the better. Don’t be deceived by momentary success. You can be up today, down tomorrow. So, you should build a lot of stamina to cope with unexpected twists and turns, because you will suffer reverses in fortune sometimes. God has so wired us that we can recover from crisis, we recover from ill health.

I liken life to a marathon race because that race, like all sports, requires a lot of grit, stamina and skill to emerge as champion. Success in life goes beyond accumulating a lot of money, occupying an exalted position of power and influence. Living in good health is part of success; the main thing is to live a fulfilled life.

Weekend spice: Inner happiness is the fuel of success – Dr. John Hagelin

Ok folks, stay motivated.

•Ayodeji is an author, rights activist, pastor and life coach. He can be reached for mentoring and counselling on 09059243004 (SMS and WhatsApp only)