TRINITY RUNNER CHRISTIAN MCMURRY WAS BORN TO RUN.

By Samantha DePriest

Trinity Cross Country runner Christian McMurry is an inspiring combination of humility and determination. We are blessed to have a front row seat to the incredible story that God is writing in his life. He is a Freshman at Trinity and the oldest born son in a family of 7. When he was in middle school, Christian’s Dad Kevin encouraged him to join him in running the “Race for Orphans” 5k’s. Christian tried it and found that he enjoyed running and did quite well at it. He is a 3rd generation runner as his Dad and his Dad’s Dad both enjoy running as well. Christian joined the TCS Cross Country team in Middle School and worked his way up to 10th in the State and was a crucial part of his team winning 1st in State. He then went on to compete in TCS Track & Field in the Spring.

In 2019, Christian’s family felt the calling to sell everything they owned and move to Nepal with Justice Ventures International to share the love of Jesus . They landed in Nepal in January of 2020 and settled in nicely to their home away from home. They made friends in their village, attended school, and started getting acclimated to living in this new place. The view of the beautiful Himalayan Mountains and Mount Everest was all around them, though the village they lived in desperate need of Jesus.

A couple of months after his family moved, Covid struck and the whole world changed. The school he and his siblings attended went to virtual learning and Christian was looking for an outlet so he would run. Some mornings he would wake up and run 5 miles, come home to do school work, and then later in the day go out and run some more. Nepal sits about 6,000 feet above sea level and each day his running experience would include high elevation, lots of hills, dodging motorbikes, dilapidated buildings, stinky sewage, and street dogs. He asked his parents for a Garmin watch so he could track his running. His parents gave him the incentive that if he stuck with this new found love of running and ran 300 miles, they would buy him the running watch. It took him just a few months to reach his goal and he hasn’t stopped running since.

During his time in Nepal, Christian, his Dad, and his twin sisters spent 10 days hiking up to Everest Base Camp 18,000 feet above sea level. Along the way, they stayed in tea houses that were basic common rooms to eat with small sleeping quarters off of it. They saw yak’s carrying supplies up to the mountain and many hiking groups, though none of the groups had kids as young as he and his friend were. It was the ultimate test of endurance for this 13 year old but his lungs and legs were conditioned from all of his running.

After the adventurous 10 day hike up to Base camp, they took a helicopter back down to Lukla airport and then returned back to their colony with memories for a lifetime. Lukla Airport happens to be known as the worlds most dangerous airport because of the teeny tiny airplane, a really short runway, and a 9,000 foot drop off at the end of the run way. It’s worth looking up and watching a video about to understand how brave Christian and his sisters really were.

Since returning to the US, Christian has continued his training and is one to watch. Over the summer he completed the Peachtree Road Race and placed in the top 1000 runners. This is also an accomplishment that his Granddad achieved back in 2000. Though Christian isn’t the type to brag about himself, we sure can. His sights are set on running at Baylor University one day and we believe God will use his determination and hard work to open doors for him in the years ahead.

TCS Cross Country Coach Ryan Tipton shares that “Christian is an encourager that practices affirmation of his teammates as much as he practices endurance during our long runs.  Christian helps build our team culture in the small things, being a faithful teammate when no one is looking.  In my opinion, Christian is as good at shunning the limelight as he is in persevering through our early morning speed workouts, which are quite difficult.  Christian will be uncomfortable with such praise, which only makes me appreciate him all the more! God willing, he has many years of competitive running ahead of him and I look forward to walking alongside him as he represents his Lord, school and family well!” To learn more about Christian’s 1st Varsity race, click on the link below.