From addiction to the finish line: Shelter residents take on half-marathon

AURORA, Ill. (RNS) — Marcos Hernandez says he has spent most of his life running.

Mostly trying to get away from God.

“I’ve been running from him — running with the devil,” says Hernandez, a resident of Wayside Cross, a Christian recovery center and shelter in the Chicago suburbs.

These days, Hernandez, who says he is four years sober, is running for a different reason. If all goes to plan, he and seven other Wayside Cross residents will toe the line at the Fox Valley half-marathon in St. Charles, Illinois, in a few weeks — with hopes of finishing the 13.1-mile race.

For the past two months, Hernandez and other residents have been waking up at 5 in the morning, three days a week, as part of Up and Running Again, a national program that helps residents of homeless shelters and rescue missions train for half-marathons. Since 2010, more than 1,300 participants have finished a half-marathon through the program, which has partnerships with nonprofits in 10 locations, from Washington state and Los Angeles, to Knoxville and Aurora.

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