The Running Man: Flying High for the Glory of God

Pilot and world champion runner Orville Rogers broke two world records at his first national meet in 2008.

He was 90 years old.

He continues to compete, and invariably, he wins. Orville’s story is about the good guy finishing first, and he will tell you in no uncertain terms that all the good in his life—and there has been much—comes directly from God. During his 60-year career in flight, he trained WWII fighter pilots, carried out secret missions during the Cold War, and ferried airplanes for jungle missionaries across the wide oceans. His is a life of challenge and risk, marked by tragic losses and remarkable successes. At every turn, he is guided by God and motivated by a passionate desire to serve Him.

Orville does not spend much time looking back. Instead, he is flying always into the glory.

Pilot and world champion runner Orville Rogers trained fighter pilots in World War II, flew the B-36 on secret missions during the Korean Conflict, ferried airplanes to Baptist jungle missions all over the world, and managed to squeeze in a 31-year career as a pilot with Braniff Airways. After retirement, he and Esther Beth, his wife of 65 years, served 13 months with the Southern Baptist Mission in Tanzania. With her help on the ground, he flew goods and passengers to missions in remote areas largely inaccessible by land. Orville took up running when he turned fifty. He ran his first marathon six years later, and, at age ninety, he attended his first national meet, where he set two world records. He continues to compete and break records. Invariably, he wins. Preceded in death by his wife, he has six children, fourteen grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren. He lives in Dallas, Texas.