9 minute read
Reverend runner
BY ANNIE LUST
Fr. Alan Zobler, OSFS, has been transformed, physically and spiritually,through running marathons
On a foggy Sunday morning in April 2023, Fr. Alan Zobler, OSFS, found himself in an unexpected place. Seated in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the largest Catholic Church in New England, he gazed beyond the altar noticing the one stained glass window in perfect alignment with his seat. There, he saw St. Francis de Sales. His patron. His constant companion in difficult times. Until that moment, Fr. Alan had felt anxious. There was a monumental task in store the following day. But as he sat in Boston’s cathedral, “the peace was profound.” Fr. Alan continued, “It was a reminder that we do not walk alone.” Or, more aptly for his circumstance, we do not run alone—even if it’s the Boston marathon!
It wasn’t the first time Fr. Alan found himself in a place he did not anticipate. In 1993, years before becoming a priest, a 14-year-old Alan was preparing to start high school at St. Francis de Sales in Toledo. Fr. Marty Lukas — now a brother Oblate priest — was the principal. Their brief interaction at freshman orientation altered Alan’s life. “In his deep voice, [Fr. Marty] said, ‘What is your activity, young man?’” Alan, who recalled being terrified at that moment, sputtered, “Um, my brother runs cross country at Central Catholic.” Fr. Marty Lukas guided a bewildered Alan to the cross-country coach. “The next thing I know, I’m running five miles,” Fr. Alan recalled with a laugh. “I didn’t mind running but didn’t actively say ‘I want to run.’ Someone put me in it, and I didn’t have the courage to say no.” So, he stuck with cross country throughout high school, motivated by the friends on the team and the promise of a candy bar after a race. “I was never a varsity runner, and I was never really talented,” Fr. Alan explained. In other words, he didn’t take running too seriously.
In 1997, Alan left his running shoes behind when he moved to attend DeSales University in Allentown, Pa. Instead, he focused on his passion for mathematics, a subject he was inspired and encouraged to pursue by exceptional Oblate teachers at St. Francis de Sales High School. His sights were set on a comfortable life: “I wanted to become an actuary and retire by the age of 50,” Fr. Alan said with a jovial laugh. He imagined a generous salary that supported a family and even a vacation home. That plan came to a halt when a “nagging voice” in his head urged him to consider religious life with the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Fr. Alan recalled the internal struggle: “My heart continuously listened, and my head kept negotiating.” Ultimately, he listened to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
His postulancy began with a year of living the Oblate community life and teaching at St. Francis de Sales High School, his alma mater. “I found that I could not only survive but thrive in that setting,” Fr. Alan said. Both the teaching aspect and the Oblate community lifestyle were ideally suited for Alan. After several additional years of formation in other places, Fr. Alan Zobler was ordained to the priesthood as an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales on June 30, 2007, at Gesu Parish in Toledo. He returned once again to St. Francis de Sales High School — the place that sparked his interest in religious life and mathematics. But also the place where he started running.
“At 33, I started running as a coach with the cross country team at St. Francis,” Fr. Alan recounted. However, a back injury threatened to end his recently rediscovered hobby. “It was painful to stand. It was painful to walk. It was painful to do pretty much anything,” Fr. Alan said. He spoke with physical therapists, physicians and even surgeons. “After praying about it and getting all the different opinions, I decided to do the physical therapy.” Fr. Alan continued. After the therapy, he could walk, bike, swim, stretch…anything low impact. Still, he had one question: Can I run? The physical therapist’s answer was an unequivocal no.
“The next day, I signed up for a marathon,” Fr. Alan deadpanned. He still can’t be certain if it was simple stubbornness or the Holy Spirit: “I felt very strongly the motivation and desire to take on this task which I was told I could not do, Fr. Alan explained. “I offered it up in that moment and said, ‘God, if this is Your Will, may it be done.’”
Marathon training changed Fr. Alan. Not only did he feel the best physically that he’d ever felt, his spiritual life was transformed, as well. “I used the running as my prayer time. I found it was the best time to reflect on Gospel passages, to pray for individuals, to hold up the prayer intentions of others,” Fr. Alan shared. “Running marathons became equally transformative spiritually as it did physically.”
Of course, it was not an easy task. Transformation is painful, and marathon training is no exception. During marathon training, Fr. Alan runs dozens of miles weekly. Peak training weeks are 70-75 miles. It’s a major time commitment. Most days, he runs before 7 a.m. Mass or 8:15 a.m. teaching. It also requires a diet conducive to training — everything Fr. Alan eats during marathon training is fuel. “Each meal is a bit of a sacrifice,” Fr. Alan noted. He can no longer indulge in the candy bars that enticed him during high school cross country. Instead, he selects the meal with the proper nutrients to fuel his body. “Each meal, I intentionally sacrifice something to be in solidarity with the people I’m praying for. It’s a sacrifice on a spiritual level to connect myself with those I remember in prayer.”
And it hurts. From blisters to plantar fasciitis to tight hamstrings to the genuine muscle fatigue that accompanies running over 250 miles in a month. Through all of the pain, Fr. Alan has persevered. “That big ‘no’ [from the physical therapist] has led to 27 marathons.” Still, Fr. Alan was, in some ways, the 14-year-old still doing this for fun. He didn’t consider himself exceptional in any way. Over the years, many people asked if he had ever run the Boston Marathon, the most well-known in the world. His response was the same: “That race is not for me. That race is for prestigious athletes and gifted runners. I’m really not that kind of runner.” In 2019, someone followed up with the simple challenge, “Why not?” A realization occurred to Fr. Alan. For years, he had encouraged his students to push further, reminding them that God calls us to greatness. He decided to take that advice and apply it to his own life.
So, he trained harder. When obstacles presented themselves from near injuries to the worldwide pandemic, he recalled, “I heard that same nagging voice that led me to the priesthood saying Keep going, you can do this.” But a person cannot simply sign up for the Boston Marathon; he must qualify. And by September 2022, mere days before the Boston Marathon registration deadline, Fr. Alan had not qualified. He found one race in northern Mich.; it was his last chance.
“The number of things that happened to make that weekend [a success] is unbelievable,” Fr. Alan explained. Dozens of small things went perfectly. A free place to stay just minutes from the starting line and a course 17 miles downhill are just two elements of many. “I think I’m going to write a book about it someday,” Fr. Alan said. Until that time, suffice it to say that it was clear to Fr. Alan that it was Divine Providence. He qualified for the Boston Marathon — by two seconds. He has absolutely no doubt, “God’s grace is what got me there.”
Later that month, he received an email that his entry to the Boston Marathon was accepted. After 16 weeks of his most arduous training regimen, he arrived in Boston on April 16, 2023. “Attending Mass the day before is an essential part of the preparation,” Fr. Alan explained. That’s how he ended up in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, enveloped in a sense of peace, the day before the most prestigious marathon in the world.
The Boston Marathon was one of the spiritual highs of Fr. Alan Zobler’s life. His marathons are always incredibly prayerful as he chooses a prayer intention for each mile. During the difficult miles, the prayer intention for his parents or fellow Oblates or students past and present motivates Fr. Alan to push through the pain and continue step after step. But on April 17, 2023, the support was abundant. “At times, I felt like I was floating,” he said.
Not only were people praying from afar, but the 500,000 people cheering from the sidelines was powerful. And the connection to the spiritual life is clear to Fr. Alan. “I often think in a race, all of the people along the way cheering, encouraging, offering high fives, are reflections of the great communion of saints who are cheering us on in the spiritual life.”
Amid rapturous cheers, Fr. Alan crossed the finish line in three hours, seven minutes, and fifty-one seconds. His best time ever. Suffice it to say, on that day, he “competed well; he finished the race; he kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
