Jim Ingram was born and raised in North Carolina. He got his A.S. degree in Liberal Arts from the College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, NC. From there, he went to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC where he got his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Nuclear Engineering.
He became a Christian during his senior year in college. While in graduate school, he spent the summer of 1977 in San Bernardino, CA working on a summer project sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ.
He worked at the Savannah River Plant in Aiken, SC from 1977 to 1981. Later in 1981, he transferred to Oak Ridge, TN to work as a nuclear criticality safety engineer. He took early retirement in 2000, and since then he worked as a group exercise instructor at a local health club and as a staff member at Kelly Scientific Resources in Oak Ridge, TN.
Jim took up running in 1978 while the popularity of the sport was in its infancy. Since then, he ran 11 marathons and a large number of other races, including half-marathons, 5K's, 10K's, 15K's, 5-milers and 10-milers. "God has helped me do all these races, especially the marathons," he says.
Jim attends Central Baptist Church of Bearden where he is an ordained deacon. There he served as a deacon, taught Sunday School, worked in Vacation Bible School, and participated in mission trips to help in the hurricane relief effort. He also did volunteer work for various other activities sponsored by the church. He also did volunteer work for Special Olympics and Boy Scouts of America.
Jim's other interests include swimming, water aerobics, hiking, biking and snow skiiing. He is also a stamp and coin collector and does karaoke. He sings karaoke in certain restaurants, dances and various other activities.
