Running with a Greater Purpose
Danielle Sill is from a family that regularly ran 5ks on major holidays. However, she claims she didn’t love running until she started training for the Madison Half Marathon with Team World Vision last year.
“I started to enjoy it because I had other people to run with, and I knew I was running for a greater cause than just staying fit. Instead, I was running to help others receive clean water, making my miles feel more impactful.”
After signing up to help coordinate her church’s Team World Vision and training with them, she started seeing ads on Facebook for the Madison Gospel 5k Foundation’s upcoming race.
Danielle and her son running together in the Madison Gospel 5k
Founded in 2019, the Madison Gospel 5k Foundation focuses on the health and wellness of families of color because of the historical barriers to healthcare access. Their tagline is “creating healthier families one individual at a time through faith, fellowship, and fitness.” Danielle, who works in public health, jumped on board with the mission and kept watching to see if her family would be able to participate. When she saw that the DJ for the event was the father of her son’s friend from daycare, she signed up.
The day of the race was hot, but what most struck Danielle was:
“I really loved how family-friendly this event was and how it combined health with the gospel. There are many verses in the Bible about taking care of the body God gave you, and I feel like organizations like this help us do that.”
Danielle has found that races help her go deeper in her own faith. Being pushed outside hercomfort zone and needing to do something challenging often results in leaning on strength outside herself and relying on God.
Founder of the Madison Gospel 5k Foundation, Uchenna Jones ties it together beautifully:
“It requires freedom to move. And in a similar fashion, our bodies are uniquely designed to move. It is not about who can move the fastest. It is about the understanding that each of us were divinely created to move. Our families were created to move. Lastly, our community has the ability, when united, to move in such a way that it can foster positive change and bring about a sense of belonging, a safe and healing space for all.”
The first group training run of the season, consisting of runners from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and High Point Church
When asked what she’s sensing the Holy Spirit may be up to through these faith & health-related organizations like the Madison Gospel 5k and the local Team World Vision, Danielle says,
“I feel the Holy Spirit moving and bringing people from all denominations together. Through the organizations around Madison doing this kind of work, I see a trend of going to the people and meeting them where they are rather than waiting for them to come to us on our terms. I am excited to continue seeing what the Holy Spirit does and how He finds ways to unite all of the churches in Dane County to help the broader community.”
If you’d like to run with Team World Vision in this year’s Madison Marathon while raising money for clean drinking water globally, it’s not too late to start training. Email Danielle at danielle.n.sill@gmail.com.
To get involved with the local Madison Gospel 5k Foundation and their group walks and runs, visit their website AND save the date for the 6th Annual Madison Gospel 5K Run/Walk & Health Fair on Saturday, July 13, 2024.