Exercise and Sports Medicine Assistant Professor Chris Gillespie discovered a vocation as he recovered from a terrible accident.  On April 30, 1986, as he was running along Lakeshore Drive, he was hit from behind by a sheet of plywood, thrown from a passing truck.  The board crushed the sacrum in his lower back, and for more than two hours he could neither feel nor move his legs.  Chris regained his mobility, but was told he could never run again.  Against all odds, he has now finished more than 100 full and half marathons.   

  

Motivated by Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," Chris has organized TEAM 413, Grace Runner Ministries, and more than 40,000 runners around the world wear TEAM 413 shirts in competition.  To raise awareness and funds, Chris will embark next month on a mammoth task as he runs 413 miles in 10 days and nine cities, from Birmingham to Fargo, North Dakota.  To learn more about TEAM 413 and to support Chris, go to http://www.active.com/donate/team413/chrisgillespie.   

  

The world is better because of Chris Gillespie and those who race toward fulfillment. 

  

  

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.