SEVIERVILLE, TN — Bob Foster of Sevierville will become the first American to participate in the Muskathlon in June, 2015 in Kenya. He will run 60 kilometers - 37.3 miles - in the 4th Musketeer Muskathlon which supports Compassion International. Participants run, bike, or walk to help children out of poverty in the name of Jesus.

Foster’s trip will begin May 31st and continue for a week. He and his teammates will minister to people in Nairobi slums. They will also meet at least one child who is being sponsored by Compassion and participate in daily devotions. The week will end on June 5th with the athletic events.

“After visiting the Compassion Experience, a traveling interactive display, the sights and sounds of a poor, developing-world community came alive as we journeyed with a child from hardship to hope,” said Foster. "It was then that we were moved to sponsor a child. I also decided to become the first American to participate in the Muskathlon anywhere in the world.”

Foster has been an avid runner since the age of 13. He ran for Davies County High School in his hometown of Owensboro, Ky and for two college teams, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and The University of Kentucky.

Foster and his wife, Angel, stay extremely busy as owners and operators of the Appleview River Resort in Sevierville along with raising 5 children. They are currently raising $10,000 to meet the goal he and Angel have set to help feed and provide medical care to 10 children through Compassion. They are also paying for his trip to Kenya.

He has run 4 marathons and always finds time to get his mileage in - even when he has to push his 2 toddler sons in a stroller.

	The Foster family support Dad as he prepares for the Muskathlon in Kenya.

The Muskathlon is the culmination of a focused and spiritual year for Foster. He attended his first “4th Musketeer” event in the spring of 2014 in the Appalachian Mountains. Called an “Xtreme Character Challenge,” participants spent 72 hours hiking rough terrain with few amenities. “It's hard to describe,” Foster said, “but along with the rigors of the physical activity, the group encourages men ‘to be men again, to serve the King’, to be leaders in their homes, their churches, their work and their communities."

For more information on Foster’s participation in the Muskathlon, visit www.muskathlon.com. To sponsor a child through Compassion, visit compassion.com/bobfoster.

Donations to help raise funds for his trip to Kenya can be made at www.gofundme.com.