To get their charges dropped, these teenagers are running the Philly Half Marathon

PHILADELPHIA — Before the start of Tuesday’s team practice on Boathouse Row, a couple of teenagers filmed their own TikTok dances. The boy was sheepish about showing his adult coaches the final product on his phone, while a group of girls compared hairstyles. After a quick warmup in the cold air, with some students moving more enthusiastically than others, the group went off on its three-mile run.

It was one of the last steps remaining for the teenagers to get their criminal records expunged.

On Saturday, the group of mostly high schoolers will complete their program by running the 13.1 miles of the Philadelphia Half Marathon.

They are members of MileUp, a juvenile diversion program operated by the nonprofit Students Run Philly Style in partnership with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and Drexel University’s Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice. MileUp gives youth ages 11 to 17 who are charged with certain offenses the opportunity to learn and practice distance running to clear their criminal records.

MileUp intends to teach the students about accountability and responsibility through running, while creating a supportive community. According to data from the district attorney’s office, 90% of the students who complete MileUp are not arrested or incarcerated in the two years after the program.

“You see young people change their mindset over how much control they have over what’s ahead of them,” said Students Run Philly Style executive director Lauren Kobylarz.

“This is a chance to let that choice that maybe wasn’t the best … to leave that behind you and move forward,” she said.

Miles for expungement

While Students Run Philly Style has been operating a more general running mentorship program for students since 2004, MileUp is relatively new. It began as a pilot in 2020, when Kobylarz said the nonprofit believed it could especially benefit justice-involved youth.

This weekend, 128 Students Run Philly Style youth will run the half marathon, including eight from MileUp, and others will do the marathon or 8K, all wearing the same SRPS T-shirts.

For students, the program starts with a referral from the district attorney’s office, where the teenagers are identified as candidates for diversion programming. Some of the most common charges for MileUp students include auto theft, assault, and vandalism. For most, it is their first offense.

The teenagers are given their choice of diversion program. Under District Attorney Larry Krasner, the office has expanded the initiative to about 30 programs in sports, arts, and trades.

MileUp has cohorts in the fall and spring, where students meet for practice three times per week for 12 weeks with Students Run Philly Style staff, trained adult volunteers, and peer mentors, who are program graduates paid for their work.

For the fall cohort, milestone runs include a 5K, the All-City 10 Miler, and the half marathon.

After the first race, they earn restitution fees associated with their case, which can often be a financial burden.

After the second, the charges get dropped, as long as they ultimately complete the program.

And for a student who finishes the final race, writes a reflection, and is not arrested within six months, the case is expunged, erasing all records of it.

“These are honestly great students … they’re not beat down by what’s happened to them,” said volunteer Juan Batista, 25, whose mother works for The Inquirer in human resources. He said he fell in love with running after he began participating in Students Run Philly Style’s standard program when he was 12.

Batista grew up in Juniata under similar circumstances to many of the MileUp students, and started working with them after he finished college. Their shared background helps them connect, Batista said. He noticed that, in many cases, it has been just a matter of wrong place, wrong time.

“Sometimes bad things happen, and that could be on your record for the rest of your life,” he said.

Second chances

When Lucas from Northeast Philly joined MileUp two years ago, he struggled. It wasn’t fun, and the 16-year-old, whose full name is not being used because he is a juvenile, said that he had been treating his body poorly up to that point. But he showed up to nearly every practice, and felt himself maturing as he got stronger as a runner. His record was expunged, and he said having his restitution fees paid was a major help.

“It’s really worth it,” he said.

Now, Lucas is back with MileUp as a peer mentor. He enjoys serving as an example for the other teenagers, and said it feels good to encourage and give advice to those who need it. Lucas said that lots of kids don’t have enough people they can rely on.

“It’s good to have people you can go to for help,” he said.

He arrived at Tuesday’s practice with Na’Sean, another 16-year-old from Northeast Philly who is also being identified only by his first name because he is a juvenile. Na’Sean is a current MileUp student who said he came back from a family trip to learn there was a warrant for his arrest, stemming from a years-ago incident.

His focus at the half marathon will be on keeping a steady pace, without starting too fast. It happened to him during the 10-miler and he struggled near the end, but said one of the adult leaders helped him push through. He said he valued the support he has gotten and will miss the group after the program ends.

Na’Sean appreciated how his future remains wide open, and how his ability to get a good job one day won’t be limited by something he may have done when he was a young teenager.

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” he said.