"Runners have their own patterns of behavior that they follow before competition — eating a specific food, stretching in a certain way, tying their shoelaces just right. These rituals are a natural part of preparing for a challenge. When starting a spiritual run, use this tendency to develop ceremony to good effect. Turn every stretch into an act of humility, a bowing before the Almighty. Consider the last drink of water as a part of the sacrament of Communion. Make the preliminary splash of cool water on your face on a hot summer afternoon a kind of baptism. The parting comments to a friend you saw at the trailhead can become words of brotherly love. A walk around the water fountain can be done with the same reverence as the ceremonial circumambulation that pilgrims take around the Buddhist temple Borobudur in Java, Indonesia. Whatever actions precede the run, perform them with a sense of reverence. The run, and the preparation for the run, can become sacred acts. Regard them as such."