Andy's Story

Andy's Story

Andy Chandler

Chris Gillespie, founder and executive director  of Team 413 Gracerunner Ministries, once said, "Those who run marathons are either running from something, to something or a combination of both,". If you've ever met Andy Chandler, you know exactly what Gillespie is talking about.

Abandoned at birth on the streets of Taiwan, Andy was eventually adopted by American missionaries, but not before being bounced around to five different locations before the age of two. While Andy finally had the stability of a permanent family, however, his life was not about to get much easier.

"Most of my life, I knew I was different," Andy recounted. "Growing up, I was bullied. A lot. At 14, I was formally diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome. I remember a teacher asking my mom ‘Can you make him stop doing that?' A few parents even called the principal and asked that their children be removed from a class I was in because I was distracting and being told by the counselor that I should just stop it."

Fortunately for Andy, he had his faith. But then he discovered something else that helped, too...running.

"I started running in high school with Mr. Johnson, a computer science teacher," he said. "Running made me feel normal." After giving up running for a few years during college and his early twenties, Andy suffered a severe bout of depression and returned to running as a way to cope. Now he runs as an alternative to taking medication, and to have a creative outlet for his energy. "I've had to come to grips with a lot of things in my past, and running has been a healing force for me. I just do it to feel normal."

He runs the Air Force Marathon out of a sense of patriotism for his adopted country. "It's one of the few races put on by the Armed Forces, and to my knowledge, it's the only one held on a secure, active military installation," he told us, adding "I find it ironic that our fighting men and women necessarily sacrifice their freedoms in order to protect ours. Their service allows me the freedom to run."

Andy's early life experiences growing up in the poorest regions of Taiwan, Haiti, China and the Phillipines have given him a sense of appreciation for this country that most natural-born citizens take for granted. "I think people in the U.S. don't have a clue about how much safety is to be valued," Andy told us. "Even the very act of walking or running down the street is a privilege others would covet. Americans don't realize how blessed they are with the affluence surrounding them. Here, you can just go to the local running store and buy a pair of shoes. In a place like Port au Prince, Haiti, or Kolkata, India, the price for the same running shoes is about half of the average worker's yearly wages. So from a patriotic perspective, what I do celebrates my freedoms and my country, and the fact that I can do it."

This pride and patriotism shone through at this year's Air Force Marathon, as Andy ran with an American flag flowing behind him. It wasn't just any flag, however. This flag had special meaning to Andy.

"I was working at a school for adults with severe and profound disabilities," Andy explained. "Many of the individuals needed assistance in toileting and feeding. One day, I was changing an individual, and there, in the corner of the locker room, in a pile of things, was this flag. It was urine-stained and totally disregarded." Andy took the flag home with him, and after a lot of washing, got it into what he called "half-way decent shape." After at least 8 years of neglect and abuse, that beautiful flag finally flew again at this year's Air Force Marathon. Andy draped it over his shoulders as he ran the 10K and the half marathon, becoming one of the first two runners to earn three medals in one year. (Andy and another runner also ran the 5K on Friday night.)

Now 30 years old, Andy works as an admissions counselor at a Midwestern university. He also volunteers for an organization called Back On My Feet, which brings running into inner-city homeless shelters as a way to rebuild the residents' self-esteem. Overcoming histories of neglect and abuse seems to be a recurring theme in Andy's life these days.  And while he may have started out running away from a difficult past, he certainly seems to be running towards a very inspired future.