December has been a busy month for the team at Clean and Sober Streets.  They had a fantastic turnout for the Inaugural Open Mic Night and Talent Show, the not-so-warm Jingle All The Way 10K race on December 12^th and the BOMF Hawaiian Holiday Luau Dinner on December 15^th.  At the Open Mic Night David W. and team captain Ed J. represented the team with a rendition of Under the Boardwalk by The Drifters to start off the evening.  Like all families during the holiday dinner there was a spirited round of foosball games with non-residential member Shannyn S.’s much hyped foosball skills on display.  Worthy of mention from the holiday dinner is the award that Lewis S. earned for having the highest mileage of any member in Back on My Feet Washington DC, with 370 miles (at that time).  Marianne N., the coach for Clean and Sober Streets has worked tirelessly to keep the team running healthy and motivated on the long runs she plans, and runs, with them.  Several members of CSS are planning on running the National Marathon and Half Marathon coming up in March of next year.

The three newest members of the team, Marque E., George S., and Terrence W. have all jumped in with both feet.  They, along with James W. who joined the team in November, all helped volunteer for various duties at the Jingle All the Way 10K race and are looking forward to our January race.

In a somewhat unorthodox, but well deserved, nomination, team captain Ed J. nominated the four newest members of Clean and Sober Streets to be all be the residential Members of the Month.  Attendance for all of newest members is at, or very close to, 100% and when the weather is 20 degrees outside their desire to run and ability to endure the cold with their newfound friends and family within BOMF is a testament to their commitment to the program.  Never having been to a race before, all four men gladly volunteered to help out BOMF at the Jingle All the Way 10K, not entirely knowing what to expect but willing to lend a helping hand nonetheless.

Non-residential Member of the Month goes to Amy D., who has been consistently running throughout the cold weather season.  Her dedication to come out and run with the team when beds are warm and cozy at 5:45am is a shining example of her willingness to encourage her friends in BOMF to take that next step on the road to recovery, and race shape.

Team OBP brought December to a close with another fun month!  We had new non-res Jackie and Les join our team, as well as new res member Steven who came over from Ridge!  It was also a month of exciting transitions for Todd and Malik, two of our veteran runners who moved over to DePaul house and are running with the team over there!  While they will be missed, we are very happy for them because this is a positive move in their lives! Read more…

November was a great month for the Dragons which ended with a wonderful day at the Philly Marathon. Calvin was our res-member star who completed his first marathon! We are all super proud of him and all he has accomplished in such a short amount of time. We had some great non-res compete at well. Marielle, Tim, Kate, and Shannon all completed the full marathon and Michelle completed the half! Read more…

Blair House has seen a lot of new additions to the team this month, with six new residential members joining the team:  Eugene G., Emmanuel H., Clayton P., Nathaniel P., Maurice P. and Allen S. Starting up with a new running program can be difficult for anyone, and starting a new program in the winter presents its own unique challenges certainly.  All of the men have taken to the routes well, and are already two miles on their easy days and adding up even more mileage on their Saturday long runs.  Kenny C. has had an outstanding month as well, speaking in front of the Washington, DC City Council on behalf of the men and women who utilize social service programs in the city.  Blair House also has consistent runners in our Thursday night runs, with Will L. leading the pack in the evenings.

Several members ran the Jingle All the Way 10K in December, putting up some great times during a very cold, slightly rainy race day.  This the longest race that Omar H., Tyrone L., and Mike S. have all run.  The National Half Marathon is certainly in their sights.

The Blair House team also had to say goodbye to Kelly H this month.  Kelly was Blair’s long time Volunteer Coordinator and one of the team’s most consistent non-res runners.  Recently voted Blair’s Most Enthusiastic member, Kelly will be very missed as she moves on to work with USAID in Africa.

Omar H. and Mike S. were voted the residential members of the month.  In a month full of ties, both men were deserving of the recognition in their own way but share a common enthusiasm for the team and both are great examples for all the new members who have recently joined the team.  Stephanie V. was selected as the non-residential member of the month.  As Blair’s Volunteer Coordinator her consistency with the team, both running in the morning and attending the social events, has helped keep the team going through the cold winter mornings.

Winter officially arrived in Philadelphia this December bringing with it cold winds and snow but none of this could slow down Team Ridge as they continued to put in the long miles.

December started with a race through West Chester, PA as Team Ridge participated in the 33^rd Annual Brian’s Run. Katie, Randolph, Calvin, Mark, Liz, Shannon, Fiddy, Stefan, and Joe all braved the cold and hills to complete the 5 mile race. This was the first 5 mile race for both Randolph and Calvin and they did an amazing job with a challenging course. Thank you to Brian’s Run for inviting us to a great event. Read more…

La Casa has been posting record turnouts during these cold winter runs as of late!  The second newest team in Back on My Feet Washington, DC they have added a lot of new non-res volunteers in the past month and everyone is very excited to be a part of the team!  Picking up three new members this month, the residential side of team La Casa has grown as well.  Everyone is happy to see this new boom in membership, and as long as the team isn’t too loud in the mornings, the neighbors will be happy about it as well.

Watson M. and Clifton L. both ran in the Jingle All the Way 10K this year, completing the 6.2 mile distance when once the thought of running that far would have kept them from taking that first step.  With bells on, literally, both men set out to complete the course on a cold and rainy Sunday morning.  Is a half marathon on the horizon for them?  Only time will tell, but for now the accomplishment of their last race is still carrying them through the new year!

Anthony E. was selected as the residential Member of the Month, and David F. was picked as the non-residential member of the month.  Anthony has 100% attendance in his second month with Back on My Feet despite a sore knee that has been a sometimes nagging injury from his old soccer playing days in Nigeria.  He also stepped up to the mic to represent La Casa last month in the Open Mic Night and Talent Show.  David F. is a recent addition to the La Casa family, but has already embraced the team and its philosophy of personal improvement through running.  Waking up early to be a consistent runner with the team and taking the time to coach residential members on running has been a huge help to the La Casa team, and Dave deserves recognition for all he’s done for the team.

For November’s team update and Member of the Month, each Baltimore team decided to share their team video, created for the Baltimore Running Festival. These videos were filmed over the summer and during the training for the Running Festival.  MCVET’s team video is shared below:

BOMF Baltimore – MCVET

For November’s team update and Member of the Month, each Baltimore team decided to share their team video, created for the Baltimore Running Festival. These videos were filmed over the summer and during the training for the Running Festival.  Christopher’s Place’s team video is shared below:

Christopher’s Place – BOMF Baltimore

2010 was nothing short of exciting for the Baltimore Chapter! From the celebration of our 1st Birthday with Mayor Rawlings-Blake, to Nikia’s Nippy Nor’easter Half Marathon & Relay, to the Baltimore 10 Miler, to our massively successful Nonres campaign raising over $22,000, to the 2nd Annual Wipeout, to the Baltimore Running Festival, to an elegant evening at the Bash, the highlights are as moving as they are numerous.

Amidst the luster of so many events and accomplishments, Baltimore has remained home to 55 active residential members and over 250 active nonresidential members. Cumulatively between all 5 of our teams, 121 members have completed a competitive race and even more impressive, 58 members have obtained employment, 51 members have enrolled in job training and/or education programs, and 21 members have moved into their own housing.

For the sake of brevity, we’ll let the video express our warmest wishes to you for a blessed holiday.

Here’s to an equally riveting 2011!

~Jackie & Nikia