At 78, Judge Dan Anders’ Mom Preps for First Marathon

Now we know where Judge Dan Anders gets that get-up-and-go. In an article on Lancaster Online, the gay judge’s 78-year-old mother, Kathleen Anders is featured as she preps to run her first marathon, this weekend’s Stroehmann Back on My Feet 20in24 Challenge. The race is a 24-hour trek and it raises money for the organization, which “uses running to help homeless people change the way they see themselves and find work and housing.” 

In the piece, she reveals that Dan — who is also doing the race — turned her on to Back on My Feet after he saw her accomplish a series of other big-time Philly races, like the Broad Street Run and the 13.1-mile Distance Run. Her plan this time is to race-walk the 8.4-mile course three times in the 24-hour period, which, if you do your math, would total up to be the same number of miles in a marathon.

She admits her training process started out rough, especially the first time she came into Philly to do eight miles on the actual Back on My Feet Course. “I thought I would die,” she says. “I sent Daniel an email saying, ‘I don’t know about this.’ He said, ‘Whatever you decide, Mom, is OK with me.’ I thought, ‘I’m going to give it another try,’ and each time I did the eight miles, it got easier. I built up endurance.”

Click here to read the rest of the piece and to watch the accompanying video. Best of luck, Mrs. Anders!

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