In a hard-hitting interview, the marathon and cross-country star revealed: “I’ve never known why Chuck Norris has been my favourite actor. But there were times I prayed, “Make me like Chuck Norris.” And now I know why he’s my favourite, because he saves people.”

Wesley is talking about winning people for Christ rather than how tough man Norris rescues people on screen. The radical Christian puts God first in his life, saying that faith in God is much more important than any financial benefits his career might bring him.

“My goal in life is not to be a millionaire,“ said Korir, who became a first-time homeowner over the summer.

“My goal is to do what God wants me to do and to do it with passion. If God wants me to be a maintenance guy right now, I’m doing it – and I’m doing it with passion and giving it 100 per cent. I give everything I do 100 per cent.”

After his recent LA Marathon win, he also looked to follow a tradition started by previous successful African marathoners – that of using his prize money to help people in his homeland.

Specifically, he wants to start an orphanage in his hometown of Kitale, Kenya. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “I was born into a very poor family. My passion is to help poor children. God is giving me an opportunity to make a difference.”

And last

Christmas, he was sure to put his

faith into action. He revealed: “I had really good plans for Christmas last year. I went to Canada before I went home to talk to high school kids about Christmas. And I had this idea of Christmas – the way we are celebrating these days, for Christians, is not what it is supposed to be.

“It is not about getting gifts, because it is celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ. So if you are celebrating someone’s birthday, you are taking them gifts.

“Yet now we expect to get gifts on Christmas Day, but we are not Jesus. And Jesus, in Matthew 24, says that whatever we do to these little ones, the poor, the hungry, those who don’t have clothes or who are suffering, we do unto him. So for us to give gifts to Christ, we are to give gifts to the poor, to those who are sick in the hospital, to those who are needy.

“So my idea for Christmas this year was not really my family or not really myself, but was pretty much the poor or orphans or people who didn’t have much of anything.

“So that’s why I collected a lot of tennis shoes and running shoes from the track and field team. I took 30 pairs of shoes, and I was bringing them to people.

“I preached in two churches, tried to teach people about Christmas, and then on Christmas day I brought food, clothes and everything people need and went to different houses, four houses of poor people who didn’t have anything, who were sick, and there were a lot of kids I was able to distribute shoes to. So that was really fun, preaching in a church at Christmas.”