Amazing Greats: Crazy great Jesus stories.
Amazing Greats shares inspiring Christian testimonies and faith stories from professional athletes, actors, authors, musicians, and other remarkable guests. Each episode explores how Jesus transformed their lives, strengthened their faith, and worked through both success and hardship.
Host Ric Hansen goes beyond careers and accomplishments to uncover the defining moments when faith became real. Every episode explores hope, redemption, purpose, and the remarkable ways God continues to work through ordinary and extraordinary people alike.
Amazing Greats is building one of the largest libraries of modern Christian testimonies from influential people.
Amazing Greats: Crazy great Jesus stories.
World champion's nightly prayer. Jim Ryun: "Master of the Mile"
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How does a kid in school who can't make any sports team end up being one of the most celebrated athletes in the world? A three time Olympian, and first high schooler to break the four minute mile (3:59), is here to share his unlikely life journey, that started with a nightly prayer. You'll hear how "playing church" as a youngster changed forever when he became a "real Christian".
In this episode, Jim Ryun shares the inspiring details of his AMAZING story and his walk with Jesus. You'll hear about the ups and downs, the life lessons and the athletic triumphs that the whole world was buzzing about in the 60's and 70s that landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated multiple times as he became know as the "Master of the Mile". With the guidance of his long time coach Bob Timmons and the encouragement and undying support of of wife Anne he made running history and much more.
Later he served 5 terms in the US congress, representing the 2nd district of his home state of Kansas and in 2020 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor.
His legacy lives on through the hundreds of young runners who have participated in the "Jim Ryun Running camps" that started in 1974 and continue each summer to this day. To learn more about the camp and to register http://ryunrunning.com/home
If you are interested in more information about the revolutionary LYRIC "digital" hearing aid that changed his life check it out here:
https://www.phonak.com/us/en/hearing-aids/lyric-invisible-hearing-aids.html
If you'd like to order a signed copy of his book "Courage to Run" there are some copies still available by writing to him at:
Jim Ryun
PO Box 15312
Washington DC 20003
(Please include a check for the book and shipping with your request)
Check the Amazing Greats Website Video Resource page to see a classic recap of his story.
"Amazing Greats" is a library of interviews with highly successful people who have amazing career and life stories and who share how God has impacted their journey. Hosted by broadcaster Ric Hansen & produced by Klem Daniels. Available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Google and our YouTube Channel.
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Well, hi there, this is Rick Hansen with another powerful life story on amazing greats. This time around, I get a chance to talk with a guy who couldn't make a sports team at school, but then became one of the fastest runners in the world. And it all started with a prayer. We'll hear about that and the rest of this man's amazing journey in running, in politics, and in faith. This is episode number 22. I hope you enjoy as much as I did the story of world-class runner, Olympian, and U.S. Congressman Jim Ryan. I might just say that we had a bit of a technical foup pas here at the beginning of the, and it took me a while to get my side figured out, but we're here and we're live, and this is uh this is gonna be great. So thank you so much for your time. You know, I think what I'd like to do is start out there was a little pearl of prayer that you said when you were a youngster, uh just in in school and a kid, and the prayer goes like this Dear God, if you have a plan for my life, I'd really appreciate it if you'd show up and tell me what that is. And, oh, by the way, I'd also appreciate it if it was something in sports, because that's where I'd like to have my future.
SPEAKER_02Ricky, that that's a prayer that I prayed many times. Uh I went to church as a little boy, and I remember the pastor talking about prayer and how God answers prayers. So when you've been cut from the church baseball team, uh the junior high basketball team, uh, and you you really can't seem to make the junior high track and field team. That was a prayer I prayed most evenings. And I know God heard me. I probably wore him out, but it was it was very sincere because I was like many young people, and we have them coming to our Jim Ryan writing camp. They're in search of a plan that God has for their life. They're searching for answers, and that's where I was. So I went through my ninth grade, if you will, uh, without making an athletic team, and then when I went to high school altogether, new opportunities beginning with high school across country.
RicYeah. So yeah, so you you wanted basketball or baseball. That was your original plan, uh, but God had a different plan, and that turned out to be uh a track and field. And so in that area, just for those people who are in wanting to know, you are a three-time Olympian, five world records, seven sports illustrated covers, five terms in the U.S. Congress, and um you have a record that lasted, one of your records lasted 36 years, right? So running became your deal.
SPEAKER_02It did. It did. But see, I none no one in my family was athletic. So running wasn't even on the radar screen. So when I went into high school as a sophomore, we had a large high school, 3,300 students, three-year school, had to have split assemblies. I went to the assembly, listened to a guy talk about cross-country, and I thought, well, I haven't tried that. Let's give that a try.
RicAnd it's amazing. So so obviously you took to that. You had a you had a talent for that. God had a plan for that. Um, and you were extremely successful.
SPEAKER_02Well, Rick, the thing to bear in mind as you tell the story is that there was a lot of pain involved in the very beginning because when you've never run before and you move into a program that's one of the best in the state of Kansas and one of the better ones throughout the whole country, uh, and you're running going from zero miles to 60 miles a week as a sophomore. I had all those things that runners don't like to have. I had shin splants, I was sore. My second day of running in high school, I was so sore. In fact, I went home that night after my first practice, which was in itself a miracle, just getting up to the park where we ran, College Hill Park, it was a mile up there. I'd never run further than a quarter of a mile. So all of a sudden I ran four times further. Then we then we did some wind sprints and stretches, and I found out that's what a warm-up is. I'd never done a warm-up before, even in junior high. And we ran around hills and around trees for the next hour or so and then back down to the school. I took a shower home. I was so tired that night. Mom had dinner for me. He says, Mom, I can't eat. I gotta go to bed. I'm so tired. And the next morning I shared a downstairs bedroom with my brother. I rolled over out of bed and I began walking. I thought, oh my gosh, where do those sorts of muscles come from? I walked up the stairs backwards and I made a proclamation to my mom. I said, Mom, I'm not doing this cross-country stuff anymore. And by the grace of God, when I went to school, my my classmates uh at different times on different floors, it was three flights of stairs, said, You are coming off of the team again, aren't you? And my first response was no. By the time I got to the sixth period, uh, I was back up for the cross-country team. And it was one of the very best decisions God ever gave me.
RicAnd what what uh at what point did you realize you really had a gift? Not just that you were made the team, but that you were uh a star.
SPEAKER_02Well, it it actually, Rick, it was a long time because quite honestly, with all of those early failures, uh, I was searching for some success. And and that success came in making the C team. That's that's 21st man on the team, uh, and then moving up to the B team. And then to my shock and amazement, at the end of the season, I finally I finished sixth in the state meet, was our number one person. I got a letter jacket. I thought, well, this is cool. I'll probably get a girlfriend. I didn't. But you know, it was just that those elements of preparation for the future. But even then, I I was pleased and surprised, but didn't realize what was inside still. God had even larger plans for me.
RicYeah. In fact, at that point in high school, you became um the first high schooler, uh, youngest high schooler to make the field and track Olympian team in Tokyo, right?
SPEAKER_021964. In fact, uh those since we're gonna talk about mining a little bit, my first timed mile was 538. So that wasn't like, you know, there's this door of opportunity, here comes this great kid, he's gonna be a fantastic miler. Nothing like that.
RicBut then you did, in fact, break the four-minute mark in high school. Yeah? Yes, I did.
SPEAKER_02It was in Compton, California, June 4th, 1964. It was in a race with much older runners. Uh, they were all in college or graduated from college, and here's this 17-year-old junior in high school running in the race, hanging on, hoping to run into four minutes. In fact, that day, actually that week, Coach Timmins and I had established a goal of 359.0. And it's one of the very few times in my whole life I've ever hit the goal exactly over 359.0. So at that point, I became the first high school boy to run into four minutes. And that in a way started a transformation because that night I went home and I really couldn't sleep because I thought, you know, this is pretty special, I think, more so than what I could actually imagine. And I didn't sleep that night very much because I realized that most of this was Coach Timmons' goal. While I had adopted it, it was still his. And my thoughts were what happens if I start giving at least 100%, maybe 105% in training? What would happen? And so that opened another door, and eventually that year later, I became the youngest Olympian uh on the 1964 track and field team for the Tokyo Olympics. Amazing, amazing.
RicWell, you're listening to the incredible life journey of runner, congressman, and author Jim Ryan. And then you went on to a second in Mexico City, and um that had its own challenges because of the high altitude, right?
SPEAKER_02It it did, and and it was one of those things where you can do all you want to at sea level to try and prepare for altitude, but we know now as a result of all the scientific research that you either had to be born at altitude or have lived there for roughly 25 years. So it gave the altitude training athlete an enormous advantage. I was honored to win a silver medal uh coming back to this country, and and to me, it's still one of the greatest honors I've received as a silver medalist at the distance of 1,500 meters.
RicYeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So cool. And then off to Munich. Um and there was it it had its own um challenges. Love to hear that story. Uh it you you you were trained, you were there, you were ready to go, but something happened. Tell us that.
SPEAKER_02Well, I something happened is that of about 500 yards to go in the race, I was bumped by another runner. Actually, it happened as the runner behind me. As the group right in front of me slowed down, I slowed down a little bit, just you know, getting in position, getting ready for the last 500 yards to qualify into the next round. And he caught my trail leg. And so when he did that, he tripped me. I fell. I took another, he went down with me, and you know, we're on the track trying to get back up. I didn't realize how long I was down. But that tripping was actually a blessing. I I would love to have gone on and won a gold medal, uh, represent you know the first American since 1908. Uh, but it was an opportunity to learn something, a life lesson that when things don't go your way, how do you respond? And fortunately for me, my wife and Ann and I had become Christians in May of 1972. And so that that gave me the strength, if you will, to endure the endless questions about the fall. In fact, it was during this time in the other two previous Olympics, uh, I have a hearing loss. I lost the age of five. I had a very high fever and uh it was the measles and lost about half of my hearing. So answering reporters' questions was always a great challenge because I didn't hear always, oh Denhob, here's the question. But so I would do is listen for a key word and respond. And I know at Munich I was trying to hear a key word that I could give a good response, but uh it wasn't until I turned 40 that I finally was fitted with lyric hearing aids. It made such a difference in my life. My ability to hear my response to people's reporters in fact. Let me just share this quickly. When the first time I put lyric in my ears, I was out in the yard mowing the grass and I heard something. I thought, that that sounds I wonder if there was a geese, and there were geese flying over our home in the country in Kansas. Never heard that sound before. Wow. So Munich was was a very trying time, but I learned the process of forgiveness, and for that I'm very grateful.
RicYeah, in fact, um enter uh who you describe as a friend, Howard Cosell, at that point, right? And uh and he won he wanted to play he tried to play a role in in uh in claiming that there was a foul on you and to get uh re-entered into the competition.
SPEAKER_02And that that was that made this a very difficult experience because uh there was footage showing that I was fouled, but there'd never been a reinstatement uh uh at the at the Olympic Games in the opening round or even the second round. And so the German officials met with us, Coach Timmons, myself, and my wife, uh a few hours before the the next round, which had been the semifinals at 1500 meters, and said, you know, uh really sorry about what happened. Uh the tripping was unfortunate, the fall was unfortunate. But but why why don't you come back in four years and try again? And my response, I have to tell you, Rick, was not it was not the Christian thing. What I wanted to do is I wanted to reach out and grab him. He had a tie, and then I wanted to beat on him a little bit. Because all I could think of was, you know, 100, 110 miles a week through all those four years of you know, any kind of weather that was there. But by the grace of God, I didn't. And that lesson became one that was invaluable for the years to come. Now, fast forward a little bit. If you go to the next Olympics, 1976, if my memory is correct, uh, if you had somebody fall in the opening round or even the second round, they would advance them if there were someone such as myself. So they started changing the rules, but in 1972, the response was, why don't you come back in four years?
RicOh man, oh man. Yeah, as you as you know, Amazing Greats is a podcast about uh the Christian journey. And uh from what I can gather, um you had had a Christian background, but as you said just a moment ago, didn't really become a Christian Christian until May 18th of uh 1973. 1972, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Correct. I had I had played church, I had gone to church every Sunday morning, every Sunday night, every Wednesday night, but I lived my life as I wanted to on any of the days. And so in the spring of 1972, an older couple, Bernie and Clara Taylor, began sharing with us what it was to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and to be a real Christian, not just Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday night, but rather all the time and try and live a life that was uh less serving of yourself and more serving of others. In fact, when I ran for Congress for the first time in 1996, I remember one of the reporters came up to me and uh, you know, at that point I still didn't have my lyrics in, so I heard some of the questions, but what I heard was she said, you know, politics and religion don't really mix. How are you gonna handle that in Congress? Because as I'd signed autographs now and did on that particular occasion, I'd write Go of God, often the person's name, Jim Ryan, and then John three, verses three to eight. And she said, How are you gonna make that work? And I said, it's real simple. If I hadn't become a Christian, I would think the world would revolve around me. But as a Christian, I want to serve people and I want to serve in the second district of Kansas and help people. That's the transformation in my life.
RicAnd that so that was the that was the aha Jesus moment. Uh there you go. You got it. Yes. Very, very cool. And that and you take us uh take us right into kind of the next phase after um after running, um, you know, then what, right? So um you found an a new calling. I did.
SPEAKER_02No, uh I'd helped other people run for office. Uh you know, we've gone door to door and we've done a few things before, but in 1996, I was given the great honor of helping carry the Olympic torch across Kansas on its way to Atlanta for the Atlanta Olympics. And so as they went through Wichita, the congressman and his chief of staff, Matt Schlapp and the Congressman Todd Thart said, You should run for office. The seat in the second district is opened up. So that night, as my wife Ann and I drove home, I turned to her and I said, What would you think about running for Congress? And she almost fell off the door of the car because that's been a dream for hers for a long time. Oh, really? But I was I was very reluctant because I knew that it would change our lives. That's not necessarily bad, but I wanted to make sure that it was the right move. So we got home and mentioned it to our four children. And I had four sets of footprints in my back, Dad, it's your turn, you need to do this. So I went away and prayed for a couple of days and came back and they said, let's do it. I felt like the Lord gave me encouragement. And so in 1996, June of that year, uh, we filed to run for the 2nd District of Kansas. And the primary was actually very simple, pretty easy. The general was not. We encountered a tremendous amount of headwind, a lot of money, a lot of lies. But at the end of it, and that sec that first Tuesday in November, by the grace of God, I became the congressman for the 2nd District of Kansas, and it was a great honor to serve for 10 years.
RicThis is the amazing story of Jim Ryan, world record holder, Olympian, and U.S. congressman from Kansas. Five terms, 10 years. Yeah. What a great opportunity. You know, one of the themes through our talk today and in the research that I've done is um the importance and relevance of Anne in your partnership. Oh, yeah. Tell us about wife Anne. She seems like she is absolutely a charming lady, and I wish I had a chance to meet her as well. Tell her, tell us about her role in your career.
SPEAKER_02She is a charming lady, by the way, and she served before I started wearing lyric, she served as my hearing aid. And what that meant is that our children would say something, or somebody else would have a question and I didn't hear her, she had to repeat that. So at the age of 40, when I started wearing lyric, uh, she gave up that role, you know, uh not reluctantly because she knew I needed to hear, so I'm grateful for that. But she's been a great wife, a great mother, now a grandmother, and a grandmother to our foster son now, grandson. But she's the woman who brings inspiration into my life. She brought joy into my life. We became Christians at the same time. I can't say enough good about her. When you run for public office, it really takes both a husband and wife in a strong marriage because they will attack you in and every way possible. And she endured all the things that were said that were lies and false. And uh on the other side, you know, we're we're happier, we're great. I don't know. I wish I wish she ran to be able to respond to that, but uh her character uh was strengthened because we both knew that the only way we're gonna survive all of this was a true dependency upon Jesus Christ. And that's what really helped us through those 10 years in service in Congress.
RicI love that. I love that. What do you say? What uh is there one um highlight of your career as a as a as a uh service to Kansas that you feel is your highlight, the the moment that was most important to you as a Congressman?
SPEAKER_02For me, because I'm pro-life, one of the highlights was that as a member of the Armed Services Committee, uh I had the privilege of every every two years defending uh the not allowing abortions to come into military hospitals. Uh so that was always a challenge. Uh, we won that debate, we won keeping that off of the Armed Services uh Committee, if you will, the the actual bill that went out for the vote on the larger floor. So to me, that was always a privilege keeping the doctors where in the military are there to help the military. They're to help service our men and women who are injured or need care not to perform abortions. So for me, that was one of the highlights, keeping abortions out of military hospitals overseas. I mean, it it was a privilege, and I still count that as one of my greatest honors.
RicPerfect. So you are um uh your peer your time in Congress was um uh kind of uh highlighted by a presidential uh award, and that was just in 2020, right? Uh was it was it was it the um your time in politics or was it the time in running, or was it a little bit of both? Um you were given the presidential uh freedom award, right?
SPEAKER_02I would say President Trump made the award based upon uh his experience watching me run as a young boy and then to my career and then watching what happened in my political life. And it was a great honor. Again, we had this ceremony in the White House, family was there. Uh we spoke for a few minutes with the president just before the ceremony. We're getting ready now to go into the ceremony. And President Trump turns to our daughter Catherine and to our son Ned. Not, would you maybe say something about your dad? I went instead, he said, I want you to say something about your dad. They had less than five minutes. If you go back to the actual taping of it, I think Fox News has it. You can look it up on one of their wherever they have their storage, and you'll hear these candid but very solid and complimentary remarks for which I'm very grateful. So it was a wonderful ceremony, a wonderful service. But again, the reason that happened is because I had so many people along the way helping. Again, my wife Anne was one of the most critical ones along the way because she never gave up on me, even in those moments when running didn't go well or when we had not a very good campaign event. She was always there helping and doing what she could. I mentioned Bernie and Claire Taylor, they cannot be there because they already gone to be with the Lord. So many different people that contributed to that because when you think of the Presidential Medal of Honor, it's given most time, most of the time, as I think our daughter, Catherine, said, Dad, you're getting this while you're alive. Most people get it posthumously. So to be able to at that moment acknowledge that there were so many other people that contributed to that. And by the grace of God, uh I received the award and I'm very honored for that.
RicYeah, oh yeah. What about um so let's backtrack a bit because prior to all of this, you started a uh running camp. When did that when did you start the running camp?
SPEAKER_02We started the running camps in 1974. We actually had a year or two before that with an organization so we learned the mechanics, if you will. And we started with the intent that, you know, running is a part of life, and we're grateful for that. But these runners need to recognize that there's more to life than just running. So we wanted to bring the spiritual aspect of it into it that you know God has a plan for your life, it may be running. You may find out years later it wasn't running, but the characteristics you learn from running carry over into other parts of your life. So that's when we began the Jim Ryan running camps. We've had them since 1974. It's been a privilege to work with thousands of young people over the country, and we still do them. In fact, you can go to our running website, Ryan R Y U-N running.com, and you can look at some of the different campsites and some of the different uh venues and some of the lectures and get a chance to see a little bit about what happens. Last year we had our camp, YNCA the Rockies, and we ended up having to turn people away because we had such a response, 120 campers. We usually limit it to 100 because we want that personal contact. So it got to be a little larger than we wanted, but it was nevertheless a great camp.
RicYeah. What are the qualifications to get into the camp?
SPEAKER_02Are there certain uh be a runner above 12 years of age? We have uh all different ages coming. At the camp. Usually they're high school between 13 and 17, although we have some that are older who come. I know we had a runner that came in from Pittsburgh who had watched me run at the uh New York AC games in New York City on the old board tracks. And the next morning went out and bought a pair of running shoes and decided to become a runner. Well, he was in his 50s and he came to camp uh just because he wanted to be there around the ring, young runners, and to learn about running as much as he possibly could. So with a variety of ages, again, if they're interested, they need to sign up early because we closed registration at 100. And where's 2022 going to be? It's going to be in June of 1920 and 20, 2020. We'll be at YMC of the Rockies.
RicUh go to the website RyanRunning.com. Amazing greats. Episode number 22 is with Jim Ryan, running world champ and U.S. Congressman and Jesus Follower. Quick question because uh there's a lot of maybe parents that are maybe non-believers or um but they want their kid to go to running camp because they think it's a good thing for them. Was there have you ever had pushback from those people saying, uh, I don't want you integrating your Christian religion in in into the camp?
SPEAKER_02You know, that's a decision they can make before coming. Kind of a funny story. We had one parent uh who called after the first day and said, It seems like you're always having Bible study. Well, we have one, what we call a chapel that lasts about 30 minutes in the morning. Uh at the end of three days, she called back and said, This is the greatest experience my son has ever had. He's been coming to camp for the last three years from that. So, really not negatives, but positives because people start realizing what we're doing is we're investing in their children by giving them character qualities, you know, Christian qualities are gonna last in their lifetime. And it's not just from running, it's gonna be other, it may carry over. Maybe they're gonna be a doctor, maybe they're gonna be a minister, who knows what they're going to be. But those qualities of learning to set goals, uh, to train hard, uh, to learn that sleep's an important life, part of life, making sure you have a good diet, all of those things will follow you all of your life.
RicSo uh I gotta ask, do you run today?
SPEAKER_02I do. I still run. In fact, you know, I I mentioned a couple times the lyric hearing aids. Uh I wear those when I run. Before Lyric, I couldn't hear the cars coming, or when I do a biking, I I was I was I was aware of my surroundings, but I couldn't hear cars coming or things that might be detrimental. And now as I run and walk, uh my surroundings are so much safer. In fact, I just am so grateful. That's why I keep saying, you can go to try lyric uh if you've got any kind of a hearing loss. Usually your wife or somebody close to you will remind you of that. But it it's been transformational for me. Yes, I still I wouldn't call it running, Rick. It's so slow, it's more of a shuffle, but I'm still out there, and I really enjoy it.
RicYeah. Uh and uh while we're talking about lyric, let's just briefly mention, too, because I did a little research on that as well. It's an it's an insert, so it's not it's not even visible. Uh it's inserted in your ear and it's waterproof.
SPEAKER_02Um you can shower in it, you can do everything except swim in it. And that's one of the advantages to it is that you know it it's invisible. Sometimes people who uh think about hearing aids think that you know they're it's it's it gives them a bad stigmatism if somebody sees them wearing one. Well, this one's invisible, and the quality of hearing is digital, it's amazing, it allows you to hear, as I mentioned earlier, the geese. I remember also when it was first fitted, uh I opened a uh, if you can't, if you will, a pop can. You get the fizz when you open the top. I'd never heard those sounds before. So for me, it's been uh an enormous difference. I can hear my grandchildren now, our little foster son. Um again, my wife doesn't have to be my hearing aids, but it adds to the quality of life that uh I so much wanted when I was growing up. In fact, when I was in 1964, uh I know I missed half of what was going on because in half of my hearing. Uh last year, 2020, actually, I almost went to the Tokyo Olympics. I would love to have gone back and heard the sights and sounds of Tokyo that I missed uh when I was there in 1964. So it's been an enormous positive thing in my life.
RicYeah. Now you've already touched on a couple of things, but I always like to ask the question if there's if there's a a moment in your life or two that really stand out as a place that that God showed up, that Jesus was present, and it was very clear and very obvious that you were getting, you know, divine intervention, if you will. Anything beyond what we've already talked about that you'd like to share with us? I would.
SPEAKER_02It was May 18th, 1972. It was when Ann and I knelt and prayed and asked Jesus Christ to come into our lives. Now, for me, it was transformational at this point because, see, my life at that point had been measured in tenths of a second. When I ran well, people love me. When I didn't run well, I get postcards that were under unsigned quitter, you should never have run, you know, different things that were cruel. But on that night, I realized that Jesus basically spoke to me and said, You don't have to earn my love, I give it to you freely. And for me, that was a huge change in my thinking because I'd always tried to earn God's love, and when in reality, He wants to give it to you freely. So for me, that was a moment that began changing everything that I did from that point on.
RicHow about uh the the uh the flip side of that? A um a prayer that went unanswered, that um you may be a a challenge to face.
SPEAKER_02I would love to have won a gold medal. It didn't, but from that I learned many valuable experiences. Uh it would they would be again for a lifetime and grateful because you start realizing in life not everything's gonna go your way. In fact, uh going back to that um, if you will, the little interview I if you recall that with the reporter questioning whether politics and religion can mix, I made a point that if I hadn't become a Christian, I would still think the world revolved around me, which often is taught to athletes that you are the center of the universe. And so once I realized that that was not true and that I could serve other people, it began changing me and finding ways that I could help others. So it was it was a moment that allowed me to see the bigger picture as opposed to letting it all revolve around me. I sleep better at night, I feel more with my family uh accomplished, if you will. Every summer we get to work with all these wonderful campers, the entire family, my wife Ann, daughter Catherine, son Ned, and then we have a staff that's uh been with us as many as 20 years. Uh, and they come with the intention of helping these young runners uh understand more about who they are as runners and in their lives, maybe the plan that God has for them. So, Rick, let me just say this the talent levels can be anywhere from making, you know, their high school teams, some have gone on to the Olympics. So we have a tremendous variety there, but we teach the principles that are universal that will allow them to become better runners over a period of time.
RicYou know, I uh looking, doing my little research on Jim Ryan, uh, I ran across a video. Uh you've probably seen it's all black and white. Uh so it was the original when you were just a gym lame, right? Black and white.
SPEAKER_00Here is Jim Ryan. Jim Ryan, Jim, what is your Peter, Peter's grammar and Jim Grenam?
RicYou're a huge deal. I mean, you were big. And you're so humble now. I I don't get it.
SPEAKER_02It's because God gave it all to me, and I would never have imagined as a young boy uh being cut from the church baseball team, from the junior high basketball team, that my life would ever be what it is now. And I'm grateful. But I want others to understand too that, you know, one of the things we teach in camp, and I teach this one in particular, is goal setting. Don't be afraid to let your reach exceed what you can comfortably grasp. In other words, get out of your comfort zone. You know, everybody has to take a risk at some point, and whatever talents and dreams that God has given them, it doesn't mean they're gonna be a success, but it may mean they will be. But it also means, most of all, they're gonna find out there's a life out there beside that's an adventure. We try to emphasize that in camps. It's an adventure. So don't be afraid of it. There's gonna be failure, sure, but that's a risk we all take. Uh, but see the joy of it all.
RicYeah. So what's Jim Ryan do these days? Uh, other than the camps, of course, that keeps you busy as well. But are you relaxing a little bit now? Oh, I am now.
SPEAKER_02One of the other things that I do with our son Ned, we put together a program called the Madison Project. We help uh, if you will, constitutional conservatives run for federal office, the House and the Senate. That along with what we do in camp and then keeping up with the campers and then with uh grandchildren, which we have 14, uh, keeps me very occupied.
RicDo we did you recruit all of your family to be runners as well? Your two boys and your two girls? You know, it whatever talents God's given them.
SPEAKER_02Uh we have one of our grandsons uh just finished playing a football game this last week and made three touchdowns. He's not a runner, he wants to play football, so we'll do what we can to encourage him. And that's really part of our goal in life is to help them realize the God-given talents God has given them and that they will use them to his glory.
RicHow about a uh a scripture verse that is something that you um I the one I sign when I sign autographs is John 3, verses 3 to 8.
SPEAKER_02And that is really the moment when Nicodemus goes to see Jesus at night uh and you know, basically ask him what he must do to be born again. And that's the whole description of it. That's why I write it out, uh, give those verses. But it's the opportunity to realize that you you need to really be transformed by the Holy Spirit in your life and allow your life to be surrendered uh to the purposes that God has. So it's basically talking about being born again and again, sort of interesting because Nicodemus was uh part of the Sadducees or Pharisees, part of that council that was for the most part condemning Jesus, but he went at night probably so he wouldn't be disguised, and Jesus very candidly spoke to him about what it needs to be, uh what it need what he needs to do to be born again. And so for me, that's always been uh a scripture I like to give people because it is a moment uh when we start realizing there's more to life than just going to church.
RicYeah, yeah. Have you uh just side question? Have you been have you watched the chosen series? I have watched some of it, yes. I have some of the myself, the first year and some of it, yes. It's a great well done. Great, well done, exactly. So you have uh uh multiple books out, but three for specifically that um I wanted to touch on. The one that was most recent was 2008, right? And that's The Courage to Run, Inspiration for Winning the Race of Your Life. Yes. Um prior to that, you did Heroes Among Us, deep within each of the dwells, the heart of a hero. Yes. Uh and uh then the third one, I think I wrote it down. You really mean exactly, Rick on the code.
SPEAKER_00Quest of gold.
RicThe quest of gold.
SPEAKER_02Oh, and quest of gold. This goes way back. If someone is interested uh in the one courage to run, they can write to P.O. Box 15312, 15312, Washington, D.C. 2003, 2003. That one I still have available. If people are interested, they can write uh and you know, is it a purchase and a little bit of shipping? Happy to sign up. But the other two are out of print right now. I don't know where they are, they're out there floating around somewhere.
RicOkay. I think I saw them on Amazon um through used book stores. So there's there's a few out there if you if you really do some looking. But uh what else, how else can we support Jim Ryan today as as our audience?
SPEAKER_02Well, you can you can be praying for all the young people that come to camp. They come from a variety of lives. And in fact, this summer, uh, one of our staff uh put together kind of a little summary of everything. We had 25 different states represented. Uh we're really we're pretty even about 60 boys, 60 girls. Uh, and so our prayer would be uh for your listeners is to be praying for them and for our staff, because our staff works with them not only in camp but keeps up with them during the off season, if you will, to do what they can to encourage them. Our young people, our young runners and young people in general are faced with challenges that you and I would never be, never have grown up in. You know, my life was, I think, pretty simple growing up in Wichita, Kansas. And as I look at what a lot of these young people are going through now, wow, they're really faced with things that they shouldn't be faced with, and so much is out there that's destructive to their character and to their life. So that would be my prayer for right now, please. Okay.
RicAll right. Well, this has been absolutely a joy, and I I've been looking forward to talking with you. And and as I did more and more research on you, uh finding more about your story, it's just uh well, the title of our podcast is appropriate. Uh, you're an amazing, great guy, and I appreciate your time today.
SPEAKER_02You're welcome, Rick. If I have 30 seconds, I want to mention Coach Timmons, who was my inspiration. He took this young skinny kid as a sophomore and molded me into much more than I ever thought I could be. Uh he became a Christian late in life and so grateful he did, but he's one of those people in my life uh who was such an inspiration and such a pivotal part of what was going to take place in the years to come. Is he he's he's still he and his wife, Pat. Pat, we called Pat. Pat was our very special, it's his wife. And Pat and Bob Simmons uh gave us uh you know so much of their life along the way. They were not only inspirational, but they gave us discipline and direction and wonderful stories to live with.
RicYeah. All right. Well, say hi to your wife, Anne, for me, because she's been enjoyed a bit. Maybe next time I'll pull her in here. There you go. There you go. Well, thank you so much. God bless you, and um uh it's been a pleasure. Thank you. God bless you too. Take care. Bye-bye. Thanks for taking the time to learn the amazing story of Jim Ryan. What an awesome guy, so humble and such a gentle soul. If you know someone who would be lifted up by the awesome success story, please share it with them. And if you found something that struck you, hit like. Check out the show notes for additional information on Jim Ryan's running camp, his books, and the scoop on that hearing aid that changed his life. And as always, thank you for listening.
