Among 15,000 registrants for the Disney Marathon held in Orlando FL, downhere’s Jeremy Theissen and Glenn Lavender were with 9,371 who finished the marathon on Jan.11. The two were encouraged by their group Bible study leader, Randy Elrod of The People’s Church in Franklin, TN, to participate in the event with the rest of the bible study group.

“This was a great experience for us,” states Lavender. “I read somewhere that one tenth of one percent of the population completes a marathon and it’s pretty cool to be included in that statistic!”

Theissen was even able to train before the marathon during his mission trip to Thailand during the Christmas break.

“A special highlight for me was my 19 mile run in Thailand. It was hot and hilly, and I had several stray dogs running along with me, but it was an experience I would never pass up!” recalls Thiessen.

It took the two less than five hours to complete the marathon. Thiessen finished with a time of 4:04:24, placing him in the 20th percentile of finishers while Lavender was in the upper third of finishers with 4:25:10.

“We’re pretty excited about our times,” states Lavender. “Our training goals were pretty lofty for a first marathon but Jeremy reached it and I wasn’t too far behind. We’re already planning to run in next year’s marathon. We’re here to prove that running a marathon is a realistic goal. If Jeremy and I can do it, there are many other folks out there who can do it as well!”

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The band is currently on their spring tour, performing tomorrow at Bethel Baptist Church in Dora, AL.