Newswise — A single line from the Richard Stearns’ award-winning book, The Hole in Our Gospel, earlier this year inspired Dr. Thomas Nutter to lace ’em up and begin training to run the Chicago Marathon for charity.

“The line I couldn’t get out of my head when I put the book down was, ‘How many loaves and fish do you have?’ ” said Nutter, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Ill. “That’s a pretty hard line to escape from. I was moved by that and continue to be.”

So still nursing the aftereffects of a broken ankle, Nutter began rising early in the morning to get back in shape to train for the 26.2-mile run with a goal of raising $5,000 for World Vision, a Christian organization that promotes better health and education in developing countries.

“We are already more than half way to the goal and with a little luck, we will eventually surpass it,” said Nutter, a resident of Elmhurst, Ill.

Nutter will be running as part of Team World Vision. Funds raised are tax-deductible and will go to water and sanitation programs in impoverished areas. The Chicago Marathon is slated to step off Sunday morning, Oct. 10, in downtown Chicago.

“There’s certainly nothing terribly intriguing about a 41-year-old trying to get back into shape,” said Nutter, who is also assistant chief of mental health at Hines VA Hospital in Hines, Ill. “But if getting up early to run for a few months combined with the ‘crumbs from our tables’ saves the lives of children by helping villages obtain clean water, that’s a win-win.”

To make a donation, please go the Team World Vision’s Web page at http://twv.convio.net/site/TR/TeamWorldVision/General?px=1105601&pg=personal&fr_id=1180.

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