Trapped in Tanzania
Finding freedom in running
By Halle Marr | Royal Report
Freshman Annika Halverson qualified as an individual for the NCAA Division III cross country nationals in Ohio and placed in the top half in the meet.
Her senior year of high school, Halverson’s team won nationals and they were number one in the nation. It’s easy to recognize the success of this young athlete, however there’s much more to her story. Running isn’t about the times or places she gets. For Halverson, running is a freedom and a privilege she hasn’t always had.
Halverson spent much of her childhood moving around. By the time she was nine, she had lived in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and England. After living in England for two years, her family moved back to Minnesota, but after a few months, her dad felt a calling to get involved with the African Development Foundation.
Although it was going to be a hard move for the family and difficult to raise young children in a country like Tanzania, Halverson’s mom supported her father’s decision to follow God’s calling.
“Usually when you hear about Africa in the news, it’s a negative view and not about good things happening,” said Halverson. “She worried about that, but knew that’s where God wanted us to be so she put aside her concerns and we went.”
They spent the next three years living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
“My parents always had to be on guard,” Halverson said.
The house they lived in had a 12-foot cement wall surrounding it with shattered glass on top and barbed wire. They had to hire a guard company because if you don’t, your house will be broken into. “We had panic buttons in every part of the house. It was part of the guard company,” said Halverson.
“My dad pressed it one time to see what would happen and ten minutes later, two guards showed up at our house with huge guns. It was actually really scary.”
Living in Tanzania was very eventful for the Halverson family.
“Every day something crazy happened and I learned I can’t take life or anything I have for granted,” said Halverson. “In Tanzania, things would happen all the time like the power would go out or cars would stop in the middle of the road.”
One day, Halverson and her mom got taken advantage of on the way to the grocery store.
“We were driving and all of a sudden we heard a bang. We looked back and there was a man lying on the road behind us. Two men carried him over, told us we hit him and we drove him to the hospital. When we got there, he asked for all our money and we realized we were scammed,” said Halverson. “After giving him the money, we looked and saw marks of a hand on our dusty car. There were marks all down the side of our car and we knew it wasn’t an accident. He had held out his hand to make it sound like we hit him when we drove by.”
Because she was always being protected, Halverson didn’t have many options when it came to sports. Her dad wanted her to get involved and find something she was passionate about. She tried playing soccer and joined the swimming team but wasn’t too excited about it. Then, she began to run with two other people at school.
“There was a one mile loop that borders our school’s campus. That’s where I had to run because there was nowhere else to go,” said Halverson. “It started small with a group of three of us. It grew to about ten by the time I left.”
When she was 13 years old, Halverson moved back to the States. When she got to high school she joined the Wayzata cross country team. Right from the start she was running varsity on a team with over 80 girls. Her running career brought her many opportunities to run Division I cross country and track, but something brought her to Bethel University.
“When I first got to Bethel it was hard because I don’t want to be known as just the runner,” said Halverson. “In high school, that was my identity and that was how people saw me. I was the girl who ran fast and not many people took the time to look past that.”
It’s hard not to recognize Halverson for her success in cross country.
“Annika is one of the most competitive athletes I’ve seen and she is a natural leader,” said James Timp, the Bethel University cross country coach.
Halverson shared her testimony with her teammates the night before a meet when they were away in Iowa for the weekend.
“It’s surprising to hear about everything she’s been through because she has such a positive outlook on life,” said Rachel Needham, a Junior on the Bethel cross country team. “Running is what got her through the hard times.”
“My past affects the way I view running because it affects the way I view life,” said Halverson. “I grew up around a lot of different cultures and have learned to appreciate people for who God has created them and also the gifts he has blessed us with.”
Halverson experiences running in a way that not many can relate to in the U.S. It’s not about being a national champion or breaking records. For Halverson, it is a blessing that she does not take for granted.
“Running was what gave me freedom because in Tanzania I felt so trapped,” said Halverson. “I cannot explain how amazing it is to be able to walk or run outside and not have to worry about being kidnapped. I can run anywhere I want. It’s a freedom.”
