Priests run life’s marathons in two respects

There are the acts of self-discipline that irritate at first, but then become habits, and maybe later, labors of love. Sometimes the weather is dismal, the muscles ache and the want-to is nowhere to be found, but two priests from the Diocese of Wichita still lace up their shoes and step out the door to train for another marathon. Moreover, they reflect, there are ways in which bodily pursuits shed light on spiritual ones. 

For Fr. Seth Arnold and Fr. Hayden Charles, distance running is not only a method of staying fit, easing stress or connecting with others, although they mention those benefits and more – both priests point to a harmony between their running regimens and their spiritual lives.

“There’s a reason that St. Paul said we should run so as to win the prize,”  said Fr. Arnold, who is chaplain at Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School in Wichita. “The consistency, hard work, and effort required for running also make for a good prayer life. “Consistently showing up, even when we don’t want to, helps us grow in holiness.”

Moreover, Fr. Charles said, although many athletic pursuits such as shooting a basketball, hitting a baseball, or sinking a putt entail extensive practice, running is readily accessible to most. “It takes no special skills, but does require your time,” said Fr. Charles, who is chaplain of Bishop Carroll High School in Wichita. “I don’t need any special skill to pray, but if I am consistent and put in the time, Our Lord is going to make things happen.”

As a soccer player in his youth, Fr. Charles was hardly unfamiliar with running, but it was not until his time in seminary that he took up running, when a classmate at Conception Seminary near St. Joseph, Missouri, persuaded him to join him in a half-marathon. The process of training for and competing in that first race prompted him to pick up the habit of distance running. When his studies progressed to Mundelein Seminary near Chicago, he often ran with classmates who were Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist who competed in the Chicago Marathon to raise money for charity. According to Charles, the team’s 2024 efforts raised about $300,000 for the order’s charitable works.

“The sisters talked me into it,” Charles said. “Sr. Stephanie Baliga, who competed in cross-country at the University of Illinois, helped me come up with a training plan.”

At the time Arnold was a classmate of Fr. Charles’ at Mundelein. Having competed in cross-country and track since middle school, Arnold had continued to stay in shape and often prayed the rosary when he ran. “Fr. Hayden inspired me to run my first marathon,” he said. “I was attracted to the challenge of training for something that large.”

Along with the Chicago Marathon, both priests have run in Wichita’s Prairie Fire Marathon. Fr. Charles reported that his time in that marathon was fast enough to qualify for the 2026 Boston Marathon. 

“I met the time standard for my age group, but after a certain number of runners are accepted, they have to reject applications. They base the cutoff time on how many minutes and seconds below the standard people are,” he said. “In February I am running in Phoenix’s Mesa Marathon to try to give myself more of a buffer and make sure I can run in Boston in 2026.” 

Fr. Arnold also set his sights on the Boston Marathon. “I was working toward that goal for years,” he said. “Last summer, I was able to qualify, so I will be running that in April 2025.”

The experience earned through those races might highlight another spiritual priority in the form of self-knowledge. According to Arnold, he began his first marathon without a clear grasp of the undertaking.

“I definitely underestimated the distance and did not fully respect it,” he said. “I ‘hit the wall’ at about mile 14. That normally happens after mile 21 or so, but my youthful exuberance had me pushing myself too hard.”

And so, in the midst of excruciating pain, Arnold kept fighting the good fight to run the race to the end. “I just walked and jogged that last 12 miles until I got the relief and satisfaction of crossing the finish line and thought about how I endured something really painful without letting it stop me.”

According to Charles, a similar single-mindedness in pursuit of holiness is the stuff of which saints are made. To set and pursue a goal carries the possibility of failure, he acknowledged, but also constitutes a big part of its value.

“Our lives involve risk,” he said. “Vocation involves setting a goal and risking failure, which is really noble and beautiful. As a priest, I try things that may not work, but pursuing those goals with courage, confidence and trust in God, is something I try to take into ministry.”

And running certainly has become another avenue for ministry, not only with the high school runners the chaplains have been known to join, but even as a demonstration of priests’ basic humanity. 

“It is fun to run in the neighborhood around the parish and wave at the people I see,” Charles said. “It gives people a chance to see a priest just doing normal things.”

Arnold added that he appreciated the extent to which their shared pastime offered a reason to get together. Most recently, the two ran together about once a week during the summer and fall, he said. Though that frequency has dipped in recent months, it remains a priority. 

“It is very cool to share this with a brother priest,” Arnold said. “Life is full of adventures and  I never anticipated that one of mine would be running marathons with Father Hayden, but it’s a great way to connect with him. Especially now that we are both high school chaplains, running together allows us to bounce ideas off each other and hear about each other’s experiences. It is a huge blessing.”