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 r

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