Homeless runners conquer Tustin half-marathon as part of recovery process
By Orange County on March 4, 2019
About 3,000 runners participated in the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon on Sunday, March 3. For at least six of those runners, the distance to the finish line paled in comparison to the distance they traveled to get to the starting line.
Those half-dozen homeless runners are associated with the Orange County Rescue Mission. They were joined by volunteers from Up and Running Again, a nonprofit group that works with members of the homeless community, training them to run as part of an effort to get them back on their feet.
Fernando Escobar is overcome with emotion after finishing his first half marathon in Tustin on Sunday, March 3, 2019. Nine months ago Escobar was living under a bridge in Redlands, addicted to methamphetamine and alcohol. “I feel like I defeated a monster,” he said of finishing the race. He hugs Angelina Cabrera. Both are living at the OC Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
About 3,000 early-morning runners take part in the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon and 5k on Sunday, March 3, 2019. Participants got a rare opportunity of running through the historic Hangar that was built in 1942 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Fernando Escobar is overcome with emotion after finishing his first half marathon in Tustin on Sunday, March 3, 2019. Nine months ago Escobar was living under a bridge in Redlands, addicted to methamphetamine and alcohol. “I feel like I defeated a monster,” he said after finishing the race. He got involved in running through the non-profit, Up and Running Again. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Fernando Escobar embraces Up and Running Again volunteer Mary Perez after he finishes his first half marathon in Tustin on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Angelina Cabrera gets a kiss from her boyfriend Joseph Leckliter after finishing the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon on
Sunday, March 3, 2019. Both, formally homeless, met at mile 11 of a previous run. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Angelina Cabrera embraces her boyfriend Joseph Leckliter after finishing the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon on
Sunday, March 3, 2019. Both, formally homeless, met at mile 11 of a previous run. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tustin Hangar Half Marathon runners get ready for their 13-mile pavement pounding through Tustin on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Half marathon and 5k runners breeze through the historic Tustin Blimp Hangar on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A runner stops to take a picture inside the Tustin Blimp Hangar on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Juno peeks over a fence to witness the action during the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon and 5k on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Women dress as old-fashioned flight attendants of the defunct Pan Am airlines, during the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Nadine Peiffer-Seitz, from left, Helen Kan, Vinnie Yeung, and Katie Olson, dressed as old-fashioned flight attendants of the defunct Pan Am airlines, cross the finish during the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Michael Borba of Irvine jumps for joy after finishing the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tustin Hangar Half Marathon finisher Trevor Balius, back to camera, gets congratulated by family members who showed up with his dog, Thor, at the finish line on
Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Army veteran Patrick Foran finishes the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon with attitude on Sunday, March 3, 2019. He said he was also running in honor of his daughter who is an active Air Force service member. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ethan Robinson adds a touch of green to the Tustin Hangar Half Marathon as he finishes the race with his 1-year-old daughter Gianna on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sara Wilson finishes the Tustin Hangar 5k with her daughter Lily, 2, on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tustin Hangar 5k runners with the Sheriff’s Department chant songs as they run the course on Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
After finishing his first Tustin Hangar Half Marathon, Fernando Escobar gets a much-needed massage on Sunday, March 3, 2019. Nine months ago Escobar was living under a bridge in Redlands, addicted to methamphetamine and alcohol. “I feel like I defeated a monster,” he said after finishing the race. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tustin Hangar Half Marathon and 5k runners make their way inside the cavernous 17-story structure on
Sunday, March 3, 2019. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“Generally speaking, they’ve all had some sort of addiction, whether drugs or alcohol,” said Brittany Watrous, program director for Up and Running Again. “At the rescue mission they are in a recovery program. One of the guys lived in a tent city in Santa Ana near the courthouse. Some of them are homeless on the street.
“They have broken lives one way or another.”
Some of the runners, ranging in age from their 20s to their 40s, were complete beginners. They trained for 13 weeks, starting with five-minute runs, in preparation for Sunday’s 13 miles.
“A lot of these guys have had unhealthy habits. This is about turning those around – here is a healthy habit to replace the other addictions with. Here is a way for them to focus on goal setting,” Watrous said. “Through finishing this they say, ‘I can reach these goals. I can finish this. I can go back to school.’ It’s a sense of accomplishment that hopefully spurs them on.”
Up and Running Again, which has expanded to other rescue missions, began in Orange County in 2010.
Though some participants drop out over the course of training, every runner who has started a half-marathon has finished it, Watrous said.
And the hope is that completing the run inspires them to achieve other goals.
“For some people, sometimes it doesn’t work and they go back into their addiction,” Watrous said. “But we’ve seen a lot of positive stories.”
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