The Full Life of a Centenarian

End of a two-mile run at Cooper Aerobics Center, 2009Calculating 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. I’m a world champion runner and I have the medals to prove it! 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.

About Orville Rogers

Pilot and world champion runner Orville Rogers trained bomber pilots in World War II, flew the B-36 on secret missions during the Korean Conflict, ferried airplanes to remote Baptist missions all over the world, and managed to squeeze in a thirty-one-year career as a pilot with Braniff Airways. After retirement, he and Esther Beth, his wife of sixty-four--plus years, served thirteen months with the Baptist Mission in Tanzania. With her help on the ground, he flew goods and passengers to outposts largely inaccessible by land. Orville took up running at age fifty-one and ran his first marathon six years later. At age ninety, just two weeks after Beth’s passing, he attended his first national meet, where he broke two world records. He holds fifteen world records to date and continues to compete annually. Invariably, he wins. He has two sons, Bill and Rick, and a daughter, Susan, as well as, nine grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren. He lives in Dallas, Texas. He wrote a book about his life titled "The Running Man: Flying High for the Glory of God". Please check out his <a href="http://www.orvillerogers.com/">Running Man website</a> where his book is available for purchase.

One response to “The Full Life of a Centenarian”

  1. Thank you for sharing your wonderfully inspiring story!! Lots of wisdom is shared by Orville and I know that you will keep running!

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