Senior track & field athlete and Brookfield, Wisconsin native Nathan Hirsch’s faith has guided him through his entire life.
He said he grew up with the Christian faith, and his parents were missionaries at one point and raised him in the faith. It was not till high school that he realized there is a lot of truth in this and that this is the truth.
“It was not until college, though, that I grew the most in my faith,” Hirsch said. “I read the bible by myself from front to back, and God revealed so much to me and my understanding. This is the priority of my life from here on out.”
“First and foremost, it is not about me,” Hirsch said. “Just like many things in life, everything is for a bigger picture, everything is for Christ. I am just a tool in the shed, and I am just a vessel. I am being used for something that is greater than myself, which made me realize the importance of servitude.”
Track & field is an individual sport, but it has a team aspect to it.
“What people do not see is the hours upon hours that we put in as a team,” Hirsch said. “Some workouts are grueling and push us to our limits. In those moments, that is where the idea of team and selflessness comes into play. There is a bigger purpose than myself, which translates perfectly to athletics.
“I cannot predict the future, and I cannot know if I will win or lose. I can put myself in the best position to get the result I want. It is up to God, and I will do everything in my power to get the time I want, but it is all up to the grace of God. Surrendering the results to God has enabled me to be better, and I am not worrying so much about what the result is going to be.
“All I know is that if I give my best effort to what God allows me to do, that will be good enough.” Hirsch said.
Hirsch talked about a couple of bible verses that help with his mentality towards track and life. One of his favorites is from John 16:33 when Jesus is talking to his apostles during the Last Supper. It reads this: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
“It has two guarantees: there will be hardships in life, and the other guarantee is that Jesus has overcome it,” Hirsch said about the verse.
During his first year at Marquette, Hirsch said he struggled to adjust to collegiate track & field and not running as well as he did in high school. But he leaned on this verse to get him through.
“It just hit me in the face, running in college is a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Hirsch said. “My freshman year was also the biggest year of spiritual growth for me. But, leaning on the Lord and recognizing that nothing that comes my way, he is there for me, and even if I do not do as good as I want to.”
The other one is from 1 Timothy 4:8: “For, while physical training is for some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
“Both are related to my faith and my athletic life,” Hirsch said. “I put in training to run as best as I can, but I should also be putting in time and effort to walk in the path of righteousness. That is ultimately going to be more valuable than anything.
“I can find that assurance in any tough area of my life. There are always highs and lows, and if I have a low in running, I can lean on the training I have with Godliness. I have the perspective that it is just one race.”
Hirsch ran his final home meet on Friday at the Marquette Invitational, finishing in first place in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:02:64 and earning 10th in the 800 meter with a time of 2:03:54. These are very different results, which speaks exactly to what Hirsch was talking about with perspective towards just one race. Just because you win your first race does not mean you will win your second.
“Surrendering the results, the ability I have is a God given talent,” Hirsch said. “I am using it to the best of my ability to glorify God, but ultimately, what it looks like is up to him. Being ok if some race does not go as planned but be joyful if the race does go well.
“Take the lows as a learning experience and the highs as a blessing, and accept them with grace, but you also have to shrug off the highs because the next day, there will be more work to be done. Being ok with the result God gives you.”
This story was written by Brian Wilson. He can be reached at b.c.wilson@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @BWilson75420.