Running gives Sydney parish priest Fr Edward Dooley SJ a chance to find time with God.
When did your interest in athletics begin?
I had a very small build at my preparatory school, Burke Hall in Melbourne, and certainly there was no way I could have survived the football field so I took up athletics. I won seven of the eight cross country championships. In my later years I made the Associated Public Schools team for Xavier College and was the 3000 metre athletics champion in APS in 1981.
Did you keep up when you joined the priesthood?
Going for a jog is virtually the only time I can be with myself and my God and not be interrupted. When I went to Boston for further studies in 2004 I began training for the Boston marathon. In my final year there I unofficially ran the marathon and have competed in seven other marathons and ultra-marathons.
What is the link between physical fitness and spirituality?
Any type of sport enables one to gain energy and in any ministry one needs to be fit to serve. Ministry is very demanding upon the mind and the body. I think we all have to find our way to gain a slowdown to connect with God, and I find getting out for a jog each day gives me the opportunity to communicate further with the God I love and serve.
What I find is that whilst I'm in the zone I think a lot about my relationships, the demands of work, decisions that need to be made. Having that opportunity of not being disturbed enables me to make better decisions.
Does running enable you to hear God more clearly?
Absolutely. When I go for a jog or walk or swim I am far more relaxed, quieter, more thoughtful, more spiritual. I find that I am much clearer in what I have to discern in what God's asking me to do. I also listen to my body much more.
How does it help you listen to your body?
One of the great things of a marathon is it's almost this competition between the mind and the body. There are moments when your mind's telling you to stop and your body is telling you to go on, and vice versa. And in this way you come to listen to and rejoice in the body you've been given.
What is next on your sporting agenda?
There's always the itch to want to do another marathon but I'm also looking at new ways to enable my body to test its limits. I'm also involved, through association, with the Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL team. My hope is to become more involved in future. There's certainly an association between poverty and obesity, and having this new AFL side will enhance the opportunities for young people in disadvantaged western Sydney areas to realise the importance of health.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
Saintly sports – questions and activities
The big question is – is winning the only thing that matters?