Once again, THUMB welcomed three new residential members to our team! Stephen L., Eric L., and Jimmy M. joined the team and came out ready to run. The guys had actually done some training before becoming official members to make sure they were ready to run with the team and they are already increasing their distances!
Donnell M. had a big month as he celebrated one year of sobriety and graduated from HUM. We are all so proud of Donnell and excited to celebrate his accomplishments with him. On April 3rd, HUM held its annual graduation ceremony at Martin’s West. THUMB had four of its teammates walk across the stage to receive their diploma: Donnell M., Mike H., Moses J., and Andrew F. Several of our teammates were present and it was a great celebration for all of the guys’ hard work.
On April 14th, Back on My Feet Baltimore held its Alumni Induction. Mike H. from THUMB was presented with a plaque and quotes from his teammates. The evening was filled with many touching stories and again reminded us of the amazing things that BoMF is helping our teammates to accomplish! To finish off an exciting month for Mike H., he moved into new housing down the street from HUM!
April 22nd was Earth Day and for the third year in a row our training coach, Mike DiJulia, organized a clean-up event during our run. Mike provided trash bags and gloves and the team picked up trash along a 1 ½ mile loop we ran. It was a festive morning and provided for a relaxed run and some good laughs!
Running milestones were celebrated again this month. Moses J. reached a big milestone by hitting 100 miles with the team! Michael W., Tom C. & Tony M. reached 25 miles with the team. Steven W. and Domonic “Nicko” R. hit 50 miles with the team and Steven W. earned his medal for running 5 consecutive miles. Eric L. reached 5 and 10 miles with the team. Stephen L. reached 5 and 10 miles with the team and also received his medal for 5 consecutive miles. Jimmy M. reached 5, 10, and 25 miles and his medal for 5 consecutive miles. Brian L. achieved 10 miles with the team.
We become stronger and are able to do even more as a group as the team grows. The support that our teammates show for one another is amazing. We are a family in our own way and teammates continue to break through barriers every day together. With the support of our team anything is possible!
Team THUMB celebrates Earth Day
RESIDENTIAL MEMBER OF THE MONTH: DOMONIC “NICKO” R.
Nicko R., April Member of the Month
Shoe size: 10.5
Member since: February 2011
Miles accumulated: 60
Best BoMF moment: Completing the 5 mile leg of the relay at the Nikia’s Nippy Nor’easter Half Marathon
Biggest challenge with running: Running longer distances. I do well with the shorter runs, but as the distance gets longer, it becomes more challenging.
Goal in the next three months: Successfully enroll in college.
What do you think about when you’re running?: Doing the best I can do.
What’s the next race you’re doing with the BoMF crew?: Bruckenthal 5k
“Nicko has such a positive attitude and has been a great addition to our team! From the time he joined the team, he’s been enthusiastic and excited about running and he’s always smiling. I never see Nicko have a bad day. He got bumped from doing 3 miles up to 5 miles in the relay to help his team and we were all proud of his accomplishment. One of my favorite things is after our daily team cheer, Nicko yells out ‘Go Team!’ to cheer everyone on; his enthusiasm is contagious.” Rob Carfagno, team leader
RESIDENTIAL MEMBER OF THE MONTH: MEREDITH EMPIE
Meredith, April Member of the Month
Shoe size: 8
Member since: January 2011
Best BoMF moment: There have been a ton so I know I’m going to leave some out! A few that stand out in my mind are the St. Patty’s 5K I ran with Donnell (he PR’d by a few minutes!!), Mike, Stephen, and Dawn winning the medal for fastest Clydesdale team in the Nikia Half, and running with Nicko during his first team run where he ran 1 mile, which he hadn’t done in over 20 years (go team!). Since then, he’s ran over 4 miles straight! It’s just great to see people grow, achieve and celebrate their accomplishments with everyone; whether it’s a race, award, anniversary, or getting through those Mount Vernon hills in the morning!
What do you think about when you’re running?: Whether or not I’m going to make it through the whole run, hills or no hills! A lot of times during training runs, I’ll end up talking to the person I’m running with to help encourage both of us and get us to the end. When I’m running by myself I think about upcoming races and different training runs I should do to improve my pace.
What’s your next race with the BoMF crew?: The Delaware Marathon in May.
“In just a short time on the team, Meredith has made a huge impact in such a positive way! She not only comes out on a regular basis, but she has really taken the time to get to know and support her teammates. She’s always laughing and joking in the mornings and pushing those around her to strive for more. She’s always smiling and fun to be around. Meredith is also a big promoter of BoMF and has recruited several other teammates to our team. We are a stronger team because of her and I appreciate all that she does for THUMB.” Rob Carfagno, team leader
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