Appalachian State University football coach Mark Speir accomplished two goals when he ran the Boston Marathon on April 20. He beat his target time, and he raised more money for Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh.

“It’s kind of the Super Bowl of marathons,” Mark said following the race. “There’s just tremendous energy with all the people there. It was packed the whole 26 miles with people just screaming and yelling. It was really awesome.”

Speir is the defensive ends coach and recruiting coordinator for Appalachian State, which won three consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision national titles from 2005-07.

As an athlete, he achieved his personal goal of finishing the race in less than four hours, with a time of 3:59:49. He credits a Bible verse and his 12-year-old son Zeb with the 11-second margin.

Before Mark left for Boston, Zeb slipped a note of encouragement into his dad’s luggage that included a quote from Psalms. With his right leg cramping and his energy spent, Mark knew he still needed to sprint to the finish line.

“As I was coming down the home stretch, about 600 yards from the finish line, I knew I was close to the four-hour mark and all I could think about was Zeb’s message to me,” Mark said. “I kept telling myself, ‘He maketh my feet run like a deer’ (Psalm 18:33). It pushed me through. I was excited that Zeb got be a big part of finishing it with me. That will always be part of the memory of the Boston Marathon.”

He was just as excited about the funds he raised through sponsors to help provide medical care for people in rural Bangladesh. World Medical Mission, the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse, provides equipment and supplies for Memorial Christian Hospital, and sends physicians to serve on short-term assignments.

“In the last 16 months we’ve been able to raise nearly $30,000 for the hospital,” Mark said. “It’s been awesome how the community, Samaritan’s Purse, the football program, and the town came together to raise the money.”

Mark runs in memory of Dr. Lowell Furman, one of the co-founders of World Medical Mission. When he discovered that Memorial Christian Hospital was planning to name a new surgical ward in honor of Dr. Furman, Mark started running marathons to raise funds.

“I knew Lowell Furman,” Mark said. “He was a friend. And I wanted to do something in Lowell’s memory.”

Mark is also a charter member of Team Samaritan’s Purse, a group of people who help raise support for Samaritan’s Purse projects through sports, church activities, and other events.

Mark ran his first marathon in 2008, two days before his 40th birthday. He ran in the San Diego Rock and Roll marathon a month later and then set his sights on Boston.

“I got the bug,” Mark said.

He also found a way to combine his love for sports with his desire to help people in a developing country like Bangladesh.

Excitement is still running high as Mark prepares to visit Memorial Christian Hospital in June.

“I hope to come back closer to the Lord,” he said. “I want to see how people in Third World countries actually live, and to see what we are doing at the hospital. It will be life changing.”

Mark doesn’t have his next marathon scheduled yet, but he knows he’ll be back for more. “I’m sure I’ll do another one,” he said. “I just don’t know when.”

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