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If there was ever a day that God could claim as his, Sunday would have to be it.

After all, it is the day that is traditionally associated with church. According to the Bible, it is also the day that the man above finally rested and like those who suit up for the Super Bowl or tee it up in the final round on the PGA Tour, it is also the day where pastors, priests and reverends put their game faces on.

However, it is also this same day that leads to much rejoicing in the hearts and legs of long-distance runners. For them, Sunday is race day. And this Sunday marks the running of the Tucson Marathon.

But for those who love to run and lead a church, Sunday poses a dilemma and many temptations.

For Tucsonan John Wall, it wasn't until retirement from his calling as a Presbyterian minister that he has been able to fully take advantage of his love for running marathons.

"Most of the runs around the country are on Sunday, and I was in the pulpit," he said. "It's just very hard not being there on Sunday because that's what you're there for. It's what you do."

Ordained in 1972, Wall served as a minister at Mountain Shadows Presbyterian Church in Oro Valley for the five years prior to his March retirement. The 62-year-old is one of the thousands running in Sunday's half marathon, marking just the second time he's taken part in this race since 1991.

"Ministers don't really know what weekends are," Wall said. "I would plan about one marathon a year, but it was hard. So those times that I was able to run were really special."

For him, running was originally a way to get in shape for rock climbing, but it wasn't long before the challenge of training for a marathon got him hooked. In 1991 he finished the New York City Marathon in 4 hours 13 minutes.

It marked the first of nine times he ran in the 26.2-mile event and at one point, Wall said he even served communion in a brief church service held by famed long-distance runner Alberto Salazar before a New York City marathon in the early 1990s.

Since that first marathon, though, running has become a way of life for Wall — physically and spiritually.

"I was able to run during the week, and that time was good for me — spiritually," Wall said. "I felt a certain peace after that. There's a spiritual component when your body is functioning at that level."

His friend, Arnd Braun-Storck, 44, is a Lutheran pastor in Jersey City, N.J. who got Sunday off and will run the Tucson Marathon with his wife, Beate Storck, 28, who is also a pastor.

Braun-Storck says running is a spiritual aide for him, too.

"I think that scripture has a parallel" to running a race, Braun-Storck said. "The letters of Paul say that your faith is like a run — it's a process.

"I think that to feel healthy spiritually you also need to be healthy physically."

They won't be the only church heads to run in Sunday's race. Glenn Barteau, senior pastor at Casas Church — also in Oro Valley — also got the day off and will attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

For Braun-Storck, his wife and Wall, each said that actually getting time to participate, has been hard, but worth it.

"Especially in the season of Advent, it was harder to get this time, but my congregation was understanding, and they know a pastor needs time off, too," Braun-Storck said. "It's a balance, and I think I've done a better job since I began running."