Court Appointed Special Advocates is an organization that works closely with courts and justice system to provide safe environments for abused and neglected children in the community, and today's "Speak Up for Kids" 5K run is one way the organization helps to promote awareness of its mission and purpose.

One regional 17-year-old student in foster care, who had wanted to participate in today's run but had another engagement, understands the importance of the organization's work. He also understands how sports like running can help young adults divert themselves from going down the wrong path. His understanding comes from personal experience.

The teenager, who will not be further identified because of his foster care status, spent a year experimenting with drugs, and when he wanted to stop, he turned to running to help him overcome his habit, because he heard the sport could "flush" them from his system.

"I started running to get the bad stuff out of my system," he wrote in an explanation of his situation. "I struggled at first. I wanted to give up,"

But, he wrote that he stuck with it, and kept running. After two months, he realized he actually enjoyed the sport.

Laura Smith, who often visits the young man and his foster parents, said it's been nearly a year since he started running, and he continues to excel at it.

"He certainly could be an overall inspiration to all of us," she said.

Smith described the young man's story as "a picture of endurance and tenacity."

She said his story is a demonstration of how someone can be rewarded for making the right choice and overcoming resistance.

"He and his siblings have matured and become so much more positive in their time in foster care, and (they've) been able to overcome a great deal of adversity."

The young man wrote that when he runs, he talks to God, which makes running easier.

"I don't even think about running, and then I realize I just ran eight miles, and I'm not even tired," he wrote.

His coach described him as a nice, respectful person and someone who is easy to coach.

"With everything that he has gone through, running comes naturally to him, and that has really shown in his races," the coach wrote. "His will to push on makes him a tough runner and person to compete against, not only in running, but in life."

The young man has placed in his individual school, district, area and regional meets since he started running last January.

He wrote that his best time is 5:08, but each time he runs, he hopes to beat that time, and he aspires to eventually run in college.