AKRON, Ohio — In January, 3News first brought viewers the story of James Anderson, a man who marks his sobriety date every year by accomplishing an extreme physical challenge. This year, to mark a decade of recovery, Anderson plans to run 100 miles through Northeast Ohio.
When we caught up with Anderson earlier this year, he shared his recent experience climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa to mark his 9th anniversary of being sober. In previous years, he completed eight hours of burpees, and hiked Mount Trolltunga in Norway, among other feats.
On October 14, 2013, Anderson made the decision to change his life, seeking help to start the recovery process.For years prior, he had struggled with drug abuse, which resulted in multiple arrests and prison time.
“My entire life was using drugs and alcohol,” Anderson said. “So when I got clean, I needed something to help build my confidence, build self-esteem, keep myself busy, and physical exercise was a way for me to do that.”
Anderson began working out, finding a love for physical fitness, which he eventually turned into a personal training business. Through his work, he not only helps others achieve their potential, but continues to push himself, as well.
“It's me proving to myself that I'm capable, and the satisfaction of setting a goal, especially a very difficult goal, and executing that plan and following through with it and then achieving that outcome that you set out to do really is kind of priceless,” he said. “ I just like doing hard stuff, I guess.”
The 100-mile run he will embark on on October 14, 2023, will be far from easy. Anderson estimates the run will take about 28 to 30 hours, running through the night on a path that starts in Akron and will take him out and back to both Massillon and Peninsula, before ultimately finishing at Kenmore Boulevard in Akron.
“They say that the second half you run with your mind,” he said. “Your body does the first half, your mind does the second half. You're going to be hurting, your body's going to break down, you're going to fall apart. And from there, it's just like you're sleep deprived.”
But after everything Anderon’s been through, mental toughness is not something he’s necessarily worried about, especially considering that he’s not just running for himself, but for a cause that’s close to his heart.
Anderson is running for The JADFA House, a resource for the recovery community, which is located in Akron. He said he has multiple levels of sponsorship opportunities for his run, so that people can cheer him on while he raises money for The JADFA House.
Anderson estimates he will finish the race between 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday, and is asking the community to cross the finish line with him, inviting people to join him on Kenmore Boulevard near the Jadfa House to run the final stretch with him.
Over the past decade, Anderson has gotten married, traveled, and opened his own business providing rentals for special events like weddings. Recently, he’s also been getting his start in the public speaking field. All of these are accomplishments he said he never could have imagined just a few years ago.
“My clean date's more important to me than my birthday or anything else. That's basically my birthday. That's the beginning of my second life. So for me, the best way I guess, that I found to celebrate it and enjoy it, is to do what I love to do best and overcome extreme physical situations,” he said. “It just shows that if you keep showing up in your life and putting in the work and truly working on yourself to develop yourself and I guess work through your demons, anything's really possible.”
If you want to follow Anderson’s progress, you can find updates on his race on his Facebook page.
