Running brings hope
Melissa Marr, center, stands at the starting line of the Long Beach Marathon and Half Marathon before running in the half-marathon. This was the former homeless meth user’s fifth half-marathon. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)
Melissa Marr pushes daughter Purdy, 3, in a stroller as Marr runs in the early morning hours before sunrise, training for the Long Beach Half Marathon. Marr got into running when she moved into Village of Hope in Tustin and heard about the group Up and Running Again, which trains residents there for races. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)
Melissa Marr reads to daughter Purdy as they spend the evening in their transitional apartment at Village of Hope. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)
Melissa Marr, daughter Purdy, 3, and son Jakob, 8, relax at night in their place at Village of Hope. Marr needs a good night’s sleep so she can get up early to train for half-marathons. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)
Melissa Marr gets in 11 miles with the Up And Running Again group at the Back Bay in Newport Beach the last weekend before the Long Beach Half Marathon. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)
Melissa Marr, left, laughs with Gina Ortiz, center, during a weekly dinner before a fellowship with NorthEast of the Well, a nondenominational ministry where Marr now works. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)
Melissa Marr listens as fiance Levi Dominguez plays an impromptu tune on a piano at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. They were there for a fellowship and dinner with NorthEast of the Well, a nondenominational ministry where Marr works and Levi volunteers. It is where they met. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)
Levi Dominguez proposes to Melissa Marr after her valedictory speech at her graduation from the Village of Hope’s two-year program. The couple hope to open a barbecue restaurant together someday. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)