Wilma Rudolph was the twentieth child in a family of twenty-two children. By age four, she was paralyzed by polio.

Doctors said she would never walk again, but her mother encouraged her to have faith and believe the impossible.

Rudolph had to overcome many obstacles to become the first female American runner to win three track-and-field gold medals in the 1960 Olympics. Her accomplishments there made her the “fastest woman in the world.”

Rudolph did not compete in the hopes of losing. She eagerly pursued her goal and obtained it. Athletes train and compete with the sole purpose of winning.

Like Rudolph, professional runners have a goal in mind and that’s to obtain the prize. In this text, the Apostle Paul is telling us to learn from professional runners.

We must run the Christian race with our Prize in mind. But unlike perishable prizes that are here today and gone tomorrow, we run to obtain eternal life. We run in pursuit of the golden streets, not the temporal gold medallion.

The Bible tells us that we’re in a race filled with obstacles and pitfalls. The only way to stay on track is to keep our eyes on the eternal Prize, Jesus Christ. When we run with heaven in view, it allows us to run the race set before us with victory in sight.