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Run4Vocations: Catholic teams place well in Denver marathon
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By Natalia Fletcher
Catholic team Radikly Redeemed ING Relay Team placed fourth in the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon held Oct. 17 and second in the mixed relay division.
The four team members, Maria Jelinek, Kelly Eurek, Tracy Murphy and Andy Kmetz, split the 26.2 miles respectively into four pre-determined legs.
RadiklyRedeemed was one of six Run 4 Vocations relay teams that participated in what was also the inaugural marathon campaign for vocations. Another R4V team was comprised of Denver clergy and seminarians: Denver Auxiliary Bishop James Conley, Director of Priestly Vocations Father Jim Crisman and seminarians Jason Wunsch and Ryan O’Neill of St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. This team, named after the campaign’s name, placed fourth in the men’s relay division and 21st overall out of the 324 relay teams.
Run 4 Vocations, sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Priestly Vocations, also had four half-marathon runners. Runners included staff of the Catholic Pastoral Center, faculty of Bishop Machebeuf High School and two consecrated women of Regnum Christi.
These 28 Catholic runners joined the more than 15,000 Denver Marathon participants running the streets of downtown Denver. While many marathoners ran to accomplish the 26.2-mile feat, R4V runners were collecting prayers with every step.
Instead of financial pledges, runners collected prayer pledges for an increase in vocations to holy orders and consecrated life in the Archdiocese of Denver. In less than four months leading up to Sunday’s race, friends, family and faith communities were asked to pray for vocations with various devotional acts such as rosaries, holy hours and Mass intentions.
As of Friday before the race, 700-plus people had pledged prayers, including more than 1,200 rosaries, 600 personal Mass intentions, and 4,000-plus general prayers.
The Office of Priestly Vocations is already seeing the answers to these prayers.
“I currently have eight guys in application for seminary a year from now,” Father Crisman said. “I’ve never seen that. The most I’ve ever seen, by Christmas, is two guys in application, and that was last year.”
With the success of this year’s event, Father Crisman said there are great expectations for the next Run 4 Vocations.
Natalia Fletcher works in the Office of Priestly Vocations. For more information, visit www.priest4christ.com
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