MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — When Clayton State student Mark Marrow crossed the finish line Saturday during the annual Muddin' 4 Missions Race, he came in first place in his age group and sixth overall.
But the annual road race and obstacle course was just another reminder of why running gets top billing in his life.
"Running is an extremely good thing for your health, obviously," Morrow said. "But really, for me, I just feel better when I run in general. Not just the physical health, but your body gets blessed with endorphins, you feel really happy on the course and it's just a major stress reliever for me."
The Muddin' 4 Missions race — one of several races the 20-year old Morrow competes in each year — features a 4K trail run with approximately 15 obstacles. It's spartan-style with an assortment of crawls, leaps and climbs. Hosted by the Baptist Campus Ministries group at Georgia Military College, the yearly event raises money to send Christian college students on summer missions trips.
So in addition to testing Morrow's physicality, this particular race also gave him an opportunity to run for a higher cause —something that, in his mind, only adds to the overall health benefits he finds in competing.
He's promoting his own physical health for the spiritual health of others.
But although the cause is different than, say, his involvement in the yearly Thanksgiving Half Marathon that the Atlanta Track Club puts on at Turner Field — a race he's competed in the last three years — or the AJC Peachtree Road Race and the Atlanta 10-miler which he also plans to run in this year, or the Touching the Trails For Burns 5K he'll compete in Saturday, Morrows says the overall road race culture is similar, despite the competition.
"The big thing when you go to races likes these is just the attitudes of everyone around you," he said. "The racing community, the runners are really some of the most friendly people you'll ever meet. Obviously that increases when you're doing something like Muddin' 4 Missions, because everybody is invested in running to raise money for a cause that everyone believes in."
The same is true for fellow Clayton State classmate and Muddin' 4 Missions runner Darius Moore. Moore came in second behind Morrow in age group competition — an impressive feat considering Moore hasn't been running very long, and that not long ago, his own health kept him off the trail.
Although road races, and running in general, have become a bit of an addiction for both Morrow and Moore, it wasn't always that way.
"I had surgery about three years ago to correct scoliosis," Moore said. "I didn't think I'd be able to run as quick as I've been able to. But now that I can do it, it feels good."
Moore said his motivation to get into it comes from a family focus on health. He's seen the repercussions of both maintaining both good and bad health — his brother Corey is a professional body builder — and because of that, he feels his commitment to physical health is not just for him.
"Being fit has become very important to my family," Moore said. "When I'm out there running, it's not just for me or just because of me. I want to do it for my family."
For Morrow, there was a time when he would do whatever he could to sidestep the activity.
"In middle school I played a little soccer," he said. "But I wanted to play goalkeeper because I didn't have to run as much. I didn't really like running, to be honest."
The attitude shift happened in high school when Morrow joined the Civil Air Patrol and had to prepare to run a mile for a test.
"It began then because I would run one or two miles a couple of times a week to get ready for that test," he said. "And then Stephen Robbins, my youth pastor at the time, he was a big runner. And so he said, 'If you can run one or two miles, come try a 5k. It's only 3.1 miles.' I did, and it was fun."
From there Robbins continued challenging Morrow to add miles, until he found himself at his first Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon.
"People would ask me if I would ever run a full marathon, and I would always say no," he said. "I was drawing the line at the half marathon. But that changed the first time I crossed the finish line. Eventually I know I want to do a full one now."
Morrow's passion for running hasn't been self-serving, though. He watched his older brother John do 5ks and half marathons. But the more Mark, himself, got involved and saw the benefits of it physically, mentally and emotionally, it was enough to draw in others from his family.
"Now my parents will run 5ks," he said. "It's not something they were really doing before. More like I kind of dragged them along with me as I began to run more and enjoy it and they saw the benefits of it."
He says running has not only helped him stay balanced and sane while keeping up with a demanding college schedule, but it's also proven to be a boost to him socially, as he finds his races — especially toward the beginning — present opportunities to connect with others whom he shares a common passion.
And it's not something he plans to tuck away neatly into a past life once his college days are done. He says he eventually wants to compete in a triathlon or iron man event when he has more time to train.
He's also looking forward to the day when he can put younger, up-and-coming runners to shame.
"If I'm physically capable to run later in life, I'd really like to keep doing it," he said. "I wanna be one of those old people who pass the young ones up on the track."
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