PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — When people hit the pavement for the Pittsburgh marathon on Sunday, one man will run through the Steel City as he’s nearing the finish line for his own marathon.
Bensalem, Pennsylvania, native and U.S. Capitol Police Officer Andrew Linder said he’s going to be the first person to ever run across the country with a weighted vest on. But it’s what he’s running for that matters most.
Linder is on a 3,100-mile run while wearing a 15-pound weighted vest. He is chasing justice for human trafficking victims and survivors.
“I could wear a 1,000-pound weighted vest and it wouldn’t equal what the victims have to go through on a daily basis. But this just resembles the weight that they constantly have to carry every single day,” Linder said.
His cross-country marathon started at the Santa Monica Pier in California on March 1, and he’ll reach the finish line in Central Park in New York on May 18.