Cosmas Ndeti shocked the world and became Kenya's No. 1 hero in 1993 when he won the Boston Marathon. It was just the second marathon the slight runner had ever competed in, but soon it was clear that he was the pre-eminent marathoner in the world.

Written on his shoe that day were the words, "With faith in Jesus, anything is possible." Ask him his plan for running a marathon, and he says, "You trust in God. You have to put God first. Then you worry about the other things." Cosmas Ndeti was running on God's power that day in Boston, and he hasn't stopped yet.
The 1994 Olympian, who named his son Gideon Boston Ndeti because he was born two days before that break-through race, says he runs for Jesus Christ and by Christ's power. Ndeti asked Jesus to guide his life a few months before first competing in Boston.

"Before I got gave my life to Christ, I was following the things in this world," Ndeti says, referring to bad habits that he believes dishonored God and hurt his training.
"When you know Christ, you become self-disciplined," he says. Priorities change, too. His priorities now are family, training and spiritual growth.

His family is so important to him that he regularly takes them with him to major events. His training consists of long runs at 6,500-feet above altitude (need metric conversion) on Mt. Kenya, the second-highest mountain in Africa. His spiritual training is just as intense, but in a different way.

"The Bible tells us to grow spiritually," Ndeti says. "You have to keep on praying. That's our shield against the devil. If you become weak in praying, the devil will attack you. Also, reading the Bible and having fellowship with other brothers and sisters together is important. Our duty is to keep on praying all the time."

Ndeti says he would like to be teacher of the Bible when he is through running. He says he wants to tell the world about Jesus.

"Many people have turned their back to God," he says. "Let people just try Jesus and see what a change He can bring in their lives. When someone has Jesus in their lives, victory is sure."