Meet Byrd, Team Roseville Alumni Member
Two weeks ago, Robert “Byrd” Cindrich completed something he’d never even heard of just a year ago - The City of Lakes half marathon, a 13.1 mile race. “When my team first brought up running a half marathon this spring, I didn’t even grasp the concept of it. Run 13 miles? What is that … or better yet, why would anyone do that?” A Resident Member of Team Roseville since he came out of prison this April, being part of Mile in My Shoes has introduced Byrd to people and ideas he didn’t even have an awareness of when, at age 23, he was sentenced to thirty years in prison.
“I grew up in St. Paul and got into street life pretty early. By fifteen I was a ‘frontliner’, and constantly having to prove myself. Once you are ‘in’, it’s pretty hard to get out. It becomes your life, your family. For many people it’s their only family. But, you’re always having to watch your back. I’ve been shot, and was lucky I survived.
Byrd and his Run Mentor Pacer Kate at City of Lakes in September, 2022.
By the time I was twenty I had two daughters and a son on the way, and I knew this life was not something I could continue forever. I started getting into cars - buying them at auctions, fixing them up and selling them. It wasn’t as lucrative but it as legit, and I felt good about working at something honest and getting out of my past life. I could relax a little.
One night, the brother of my girlfriend was in trouble - he’d gotten jumped and needed help. He was family, so I went to help him, and ended up fighting the guy, and unfortunately, that person unintentionally passed away.
I didn’t try to fight it - I took a plea deal for 17 years, but the judge ended up giving me 30 years. I was 22 years old. I’d never been to prison. I didn’t even have a concept of what 30 years meant or what was ahead of me.
Going to prison was like growing up in the streets all over again. Inside, I was involved with a lot of the same people I’d known on the outside. Getting back in it with them, it gave me a sense of purpose and belonging. I was a frontliner again inside just like I had been on the outside. I was being tested all the time. I probably spent a total of three full years in segregation, not allowed to leave my cell for anything. I was young, I had 30 years to do which seemed like a lifetime.
I did decide, though, that I was going to take this time to educate myself. I started working on my GED, and got into classes in carpentry and cabinetry, and achieved several certifications. I started cutting people’s hair, and ended up getting my barber’s certificate which was a year and a half program.
In April of this year I was released to the re-entry center to complete my last year. Being in a halfway house, in the “in between” is really difficult. You’re not in but you’re not out. And wow, a lot has changed in 20 years. Everyone is on their phones now. What is acceptable and what is not has changed so much. I see people from my old neighborhood and it motivates me to do better. So, I continue to build my new circle in regards, to moving along in life.
I ran a bit in prison but always just a few miles. When I started running with this team, I was struck by the camaraderie right away. But more than that, this team gave me a sense of something new - a sense of a new way of living. For the half [marathon] I ran with Glenn and Kate, and did you know they are scientists?? And we were cool with one another and I’m like whoa, this is NOT who I would’ve been friends with before. This is completely different for me.
This past weekend, I ran a half marathon, which I would never have considered doing before. But the Mentors told me I was a strong runner, and then [fellow Resident] Robert, he was like I’m an old man, I can’t do this but you can - go out there and get it. This old guy’s telling me I gotta do it so I had to!
Because of running with Mile in My Shoes, I was able to get connected with Stilo Cutz, where I work now as a barber. When I needed the tools to start, you connected me to Small Sums to get what I needed. My life is so different now. Now I don’t stay out late because I gotta go home - I gotta work or run in the morning. It feels good to not be always looking over your shoulder.
I brag about Mile in My Shoes to people. I have a 22 year old son, and I am going to get him to come to a run with me soon, to show him this different way. I know you say this organization isn’t big, but damn …. I sure feel like I’m a part of something big.”
Interested in helping Byrd reach his goals? You can support him by contributing to him directly on CashApp, where his profile is: $Juniorcrich.