Calculating risk was the name of the game when I invested in the oil and gas business and the stock market. Instead of going with the herd, I followed my instinct for boldness and rode out the cycles of boom and bust that scare off more timid investors. In another contrarian move, I gave away most of the money I made in my lifetime, preferring to put it to work for God, the source of all abundance.

Abundant good health and a competitive spirit keep me running races even though my competitors have quit. When my wife passed away two weeks before my first national championship meet, I kept running. She wouldn’t have wanted me to quit. When a stroke paralyzed me on the third anniversary of her death, I devoted myself to rehab, and within weeks, I was running. Nowadays, when my body starts aching and my knees threaten to buckle, I keep running. Stopping would mean going home and plopping myself on a recliner. That’s not for me. I’m the running man.

Why do I run? I run for three reasons. First, it keeps me active, and that keeps me alive. Second, I run competitively because I like to win. And third, and most important, running gives me a platform. Through running, I create opportunities to talk about God.

I have lived to the fullest, with gusto, and I don’t intend to stop until I pass the finish line— running.