Little sisters run for a greater purpose

In the 1981 movie “Chariots of Fire,” there’s a line spoken by actor Ian Charleson, playing missionary and Olympic gold-medaling runner Eric Liddell, that Jackson Heights High School sophomore Faith Lit­tle and her older sister, 2015 JHHS graduate Kaitlynn Little, see as central to their lives.

“I believe God made me for a purpose,” Charleson says in the Oscar-winning movie. “But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

The Little sisters feel the same way, whether it’s Faith’s victories in track and cross-country or Kait­lynn’s recent accomplishment of completing her first marathon. But for each of them, the goal is greater than just bringing home a medal or a trophy.

“When I was running cross-country as a freshman, my goal was to get to a certain place, but in track, the goal was to set an exam­ple and represent Christ through my running,” Faith said. “And if I could inspire or encourage some­one, then I would meet my main goal.”

For Kaitlynn, a sophomore at Sterling College, her big run — the Gobbler Grind Marathon in Over­land Park — was an accomplish­ment that allowed her to focus on someone else. She ran the marathon for a 5-year-old girl with spina bi­fida, whom Kaitlynn said “de­served a medal so much more than I did.”

Both girls said they picked up a love of running early in their lives. Kaitlynn first discovered it as a first-grader at Jackson Heights.

“At Play Day, we would run, and I discovered that I could keep up with the guys,” Kaitlynn said. “That’s when I realized that it was my thing. I decided that I was go­ing to use it to glorify God and keep the focus off of myself. But really, it’s just because I love it.”

Faith also discovered her love for running as a child.

“I just found so much joy in do­ing it,” she said.

The two girls — daughters of Les and Joan Little of rural Holton — would train and expand upon that affinity for running, all the way through middle school and into high school.

Note: For the full story, turn to The Holton Recorder subscriber section.