CLAREMORE, OK (ANS) -- “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house”—Matthew 5:13-15 (NIV).

Fireworks explode during the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium Sunday (Photo:Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters)

The closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics on Sunday, August 12 celebrated the achievements of the athletes and included a handover from one host city to the next. Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympic Games. The closing ceremonies also featured the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame, signaling the end of the games.

A TV news reporter recently asked Olympian winners where they keep their medals. Because most were afraid of having their medals stolen, they don’t display them in a prominent place inside their homes. Instead, most winners admitted to hiding their gold, silver and bronze rewards, usually in a sock drawer.

One American runner, competing for the gold in this year’s Olympics, drew attention when he listed his coach as God on a standard drug test form after coming in second at the U.S. half-marathon championships. When asked by a testing official to name a real person, 29-year-old Ryan Hall, replied, “He is a real person.”

Hall winning the US Olympic Marathon Trials in 2008

According to “The Christian Post,” Hall left his previous coach after he questioned Hall’s commitment to win. Because Hall felt his coach had lost faith in him, he now insists he doesn’t have one, outside of God and the inspiration of the words in the Bible.

In a “USA Today” article, Hall said, “I was sick of saying I'm a Christian but not having a desperation for God in my life. I wanted to need God. I wanted to make my faith more active in my life.”

According to his wife, Sarah Hall, turning to the Bible allows Hall's spirituality to help his training. “The Bible is not going to tell you how to be a good runner, just like it’s not going to tell you how to build a computer. I don't think Ryan is looking at the Bible for a formula, necessarily. There are certain things that God highlights for him that he applies to his training.”

Hall adds, “I was a runner who happened to be a Christian. I needed to become a Christian who happened to be a runner.”

Last year Hall became the fastest U.S. runner with a time of 2:04:58 at the Boston Marathon. “One step by itself doesn't mean anything, but you put all those steps together and it’s absolutely miraculous what your body can do,” he said. “So sometimes I don't even like to think about how fast I run...because it just seems totally impossible, but it’s just a testimony to the amazing bodies that God has given us.”

Hall currently holds the U.S. record in the half-marathon with a time of 59:43, making him the first U.S. distance runner to break the one-hour marathon barrier. Hall, however, is breaking more than running barriers. He is letting His light shine before men so that he brings glory to his coach: God.

Take “The 40-Day Challenge.” Go to www.carolaround.com and download your e-book today, available free until September 9. Email your comments to the author at carolaround@yahoo.com.

Carol Round turned her passion for writing into a full-time career after retiring in 2005 from a northeastern Oklahoma public school system. Her passion, however, is using her writing to inspire others. “A Matter of Faith,” her self-syndicated column, is currently running in 12 Oklahoma newspapers as well as in the ASSIST News Service. Two collections of her columns are also available in book form and are available through her blog, www.carolaround.com. Ms. Round’s latest book, “Journaling with Jesus: How to draw closer to God,” was just released and can be purchased at www.amazon.com or at www.journalingwithjesus.com.