Team Story: MN Adult & Teen Challenge

The Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge Running Club has two teams running the MN RUN Relay on September 8, 2018. We are proud that they chose this race to participate in, and applaud them for putting together two separate teams!  

Here's more about this local club.

The Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge Running Club has been going just over 10 years and has had over 700 members. There are currently approximately 50 active members. The club gets together at 5am on Tuesday and Thursday to run a lake or a loop on the river. Average attendance is 25, but there has been as many as 41 come out in the wee hours.

To be a member of MNTC requires:

• An issue with substance abuse

• A desire to address it

• A commitment to being in the MNTC 13-month program

• An ability to get up for an early morning run

MNTC typically participates in one race a month. You may see them running and volunteering at many of the races in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. The men who get to run are those with the best attendance in the morning runs 6 weeks before registration. Often, sleeping in twice in 6 weeks means missing the cut.

Benefits the men see in participation in MNTC:

• Added comradery and support from other clients to help them complete the program

• Introduction to a healthy activity

• Fresh air

• Fun of running races

• Staying out of trouble – program rule violation leads to restrictions which will lead to missing out on the fun

• Increased odds of finishing the program. The men who can get themselves up to run at 5am are those same men who are more likely to finish the program. Those with run totals over 50 have graduated more than 95% of the time. Those with run totals over 30 have graduated more than 85% of the time.