Sunday's marathon is part of a path he started running in prison
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Many of the runners taking part in this weekend’s Twin Cities Marathon are participating for very personal reasons. Among them is Andre Anderson, who was recently released from prison after 11 years.
“I run because I can. Simply put,” Anderson told MPR News on Friday. “When I was incarcerated, a lot of my decisions were made for me: when to get up, when to go to bed, what to eat, but running was always a choice.”
Anderson’s passion for running began in his late teens. He started serving time for a crime at age 27 and had a 9-year-old daughter at home.
About four years into his sentence, bitterness began to turn to acceptance.
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On his 30th birthday, Anderson laced up his shoes and hit the pavement once again. He got support for his training from the nonprofit Mile in My Shoes, which works with people traditionally excluded from running events.
“I just love the rhythm of my footsteps on the pavement, getting out and exercising, and there was really a way that I could find freedom, even though I was still incarcerated,” Anderson said. “It helped just the anxiety of everything kind of fade away, and after I would finish a run, just feel accomplished.”
Anderson spoke with Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition about his experience readying for Sunday’s race.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity. Listen to their conversation by clicking the player button above.
How did training help prepare you for the outside?
I think, for one, being well-balanced. Physically, it provided an outlet for me to deal with nerves and anxiety, but also just accountability, right? To show up when I feel good, when I don't feel good, when it's super cold in the Minnesota winters or hot — just to not have excuses. I always say that there are 10,000 reasons not to run, but you can just find that one reason to run, then it works out.
And it's really helped me getting out now, going to college full-time, working, life. You have to show up, regardless of how you feel. And the skills that I learned in running have really helped me in this process.
I hear that you started a running program for inmates at the correctional facility in Lino Lakes?
Yeah, there's really a cool opportunity. In 2021, college in prison made a comeback when people were eligible for Pell grants [while] in prison. So Minneapolis College started, and Metro State also. And so in my first semester, I was working and trying to do some advocacy work, and my professor said, “Why don't you start a club?” Man, that's a great idea.
So I went back to my unit, I called my mom, and I said, “Mom, I have this opportunity to start a club. What should I do?” And she instantly said, “It has to be a running club.” And so that's where the idea started. It was called Running for Change, and at one point, we had about 19 people together. We would run once a week on Saturdays and do a 5k in the prison yard.
People could sponsor a cause that they would want to run for. Our first race was for a guy who lost his mom to breast cancer. So we all made little pink wrist bands, and we all ran together in support for his mom. Other people would come up with causes and would run a race dedicated to that. And the cool part about that is it really gave people a chance to run for something bigger than themselves, right? When you're running for some cause or you're running for someone, it was really exciting to see that light in those people’s eyes, and a lot of them are still running today.
Beyond the expected hot weather, what are you going to be thinking about on the course, and especially when you cross the finish line?
We'll deal with the weather. You can't really control that. So hopefully, we can get a better forecast in the next two days. But if not, for me, it's just showing up. I'm running with Mile in My Shoes.
I’ve got a great mentor, Steve, who will be running with me. So just enjoying the time together, enjoying the scenery. I'm from Duluth, so this is all new to me, and just taking it all in. To get to that finish line, whatever the time is, just that accomplishment of getting to the finish line and soaking in the moment — I'm really looking forward to it.
MPR News Reporter Nicole Ki contributed to this story.
