Dean Karnazes is a modern day Superman. He has run fifty marathons in fifty days in fifty states, and runs ultra marathons of over 200 miles. He details his amazing accomplishments in his book UltramarathonMan.

After one particularly grueling 200 mile marathon he shared the following contents of his nutritional intake during the run:

8 Power Bars – 1880 calories

Slurpee – 480

Pizza – 4500

4 Bananas – 420

2 Chicken Sandwiches – 1040

1 Bag of Doritos – 1120

1 Cheesecake – 2850

5 Chocolate Chip Cookies – 1340

1 Cinnamon Buns – 760

4 PB and Honey Sandwiches – 1200

3 Large Beef Burritos – 1572

2 Smoothies – 850

1 Pretzel – 620

1 Chicken Wrap – 840

1 Chocolate Malt – 1150

1 Ice Cream Sandwich – 410

2 Mac and Cheese – 770

1 Chocolate Éclair – 390

3 Doughnuts – 570

3 Bags of Trail Mix – 1050

3 Large French Fries – 1320

1 Chocolate Espresso – 400

30 Pedialytes – 2400

The grand total of what he consumed during the hours of the race was 27,932 calories! Dean has been able to show the world new understandings about what is possible.

In fact, it is from the sport of running that another astonishing example of possibility comes.

For centuries men have tried to run a mile in four minutes. It has been attempted for thousands of years. The Romans and Greeks even tied athletes to bulls so they would run faster and develop stronger muscles, but in the end no one was able to complete the mile in four minutes.

It was simply deemed impossible, and people concluded that the physiological makeup of human beings prohibited them from this feat. In a well known slice of history, one man shattered millennia of belief when he did in fact run the mile in four minutes in 1954.

Roger Bannister finally did what people had tried to do for thousands of years, giving people a new reference about what was possible. Amazingly, once people had a new belief because of his model, within the next twelve months some two dozen others were able to break the four minute mile as well; something that today is a common occurrence. It is remarkable how everything changes when someone opens us to the truth.

Consider; while the United States represents 5% of the world population, Americans consume 50% of the world's illegal drugs, spending more on narcotics than on education. It is also of note that the three best selling drugs in America all are used to treat one thing; stress. However, things need not be like this once we know who is on our side and realize just how much we are capable of.

In scripture we read, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize" (1 Corinthians 9:24). The Apostle often used sports as a metaphor for spiritual growth.

Indeed, both can be demanding and both require that we push ourselves to the limit so that our muscles can more fully develop and our endurance increases. And in the end we will be able to look back and see how far God has brought us and be amazed as we can testify that, "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

About the Author:
A former pastor, Tobin holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in theology. Having traveled widely in the Marine Corps and as a graduate student, Tobin has spent the past 15 years gathering some of the world's most powerful life-changing truths. He's the author of The Life That Is Really Life: How Biblical Truth Can Transform Your Spiritual, Emotional, Physical and Relational Health which is available on Amazon and at his website twominutesermon.com