Ricardo Flores didn’t become a runner for conventional reasons. 

Instead, the 42-year-old resolved to show up twice a week to a running club called Next Steps that is hosted by the Listening House, a homeless shelter in St. Paul, Minnesota, two years ago. If he participated with the group 24 times, the center would pay his cell phone bill for a month. 

The incentive was meaningful for Flores—the phone gave him the ability to connect with his family in Mexico. 

Now, Flores is a regular at the running club and races at least once per month. He finished the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday, his second attempt at 26.2 miles, in 3:22:54. 

“I am so happy I did my best in the Twin Cities Marathon and did 20 minutes faster than my previous marathon,” Flores wrote in an email to Runner’s World. “I am looking forward to my next marathon at Grandma's in Duluth next spring. Hopefully I can qualify for Boston there because I will train more and only have to improve eight minutes.”

Flores, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico in 2004, said he ran during his childhood but didn’t start running consistently until 2013. Because of substance abuse with alcohol and being unable to find consistent work, Flores has been on the streets for more than two years. For money, he picks up various handyman jobs whenever he can and volunteers at the Listening House.

Being a member of the running club has given Flores the opportunity to earn things like bus fares, donated running gear, race fees, or funds to pay for a cell phone. 

“Our goal for the group is not to have successful runners,” said Julie Borgerding, a program director at the Listening House, who added that about 20 people have participated since the group was created in 2012. “It’s more about [helping our members] learn to show up, participate in a group, build self-esteem, and a variety of things that homelessness detracts. Ricardo has definitely been our biggest success.”

Along with other events that help support its homeless initiatives, the Listening House puts on a race, the Next Steps 5K, as a fundraiser to cover the costs of the incentives. Flores won this year’s race held in May, finishing in 20:12. 

Borgerding said Flores is drawn to the community aspect of the sport, the competition, and how the activity has made him a stronger, happier person. 

“In the past, he struggled with addiction,” Borgerding said. “He’s replaced one addiction with another that’s much healthier.” 

Though he was initially disappointed with his time at the Twin Cities Marathon, Borgerding said Flores is even more motivated to earn a spot on the starting line in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, in his next try at 26.2 miles.