We work hard, log hundreds of miles each month, and have a lot to celebrate. This year we rallied the troops together a wonderful holiday party, full of food, awards & our very own rendition of the 12 days of Christmas Running!

Our BoMF DC crew is something to be proud of, and we had a great time passing out certificates, singing, picture-snapping & eating all of the seasonal goodies. Thank you to all who came, supplied food, ate, belted out Stephanie & Jaime’s lyrics, and supported our amazing team!

For the 10th year running, the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club hosted and directed the Potomac Heritage Trail Run. The run is 50 km (approx. 31.1 miles) long, taking participants along the Potomac River and across the DC, Maryland and Virginia state lines.

This year, Back on My Feet DC was represented at the event!

We’ve had many members run full & half marathons – but BoMF doesn’t stop there! On Sunday, November 13, Chris H., Walter B., Marvin O. & Lewis S. completed the Potomac Heritage Trail 50K! We now have 4 members who have completed an ultra marathon!

They all displayed a new level of determination and heart, leaving it all out there on the trails. We’re so excited for the runners, and can’t wait to see what they continue to accomplish!

On the palindrome day of 11/11/11 (also Veteran’s Day!), Accenture employees teamed up with Back on My Feet DC for their second annual Day of Service. We had volunteers join for the morning runs, and then provided a breakfast for our Resident members & runners! Following this, Accenture employees presented a professionalism seminar, titled “Skills to Succeed”.  It was definitely a successful morning; we loved having the extra hands on deck!

To wrap things up, Accenture invited us to their annual member meeting. Resident member, Thornell M. from team CSS, spoke to the crowd! His success is inspiring, and his words of wisdom are aplenty! Check out the video (link below) to hear his take on the Back on My Feet effect.

BoMF at Accenture Day of Service, Thornell Speech

“I went online, and I googled Endorphins….it came up, “running high”. It really works!…When I show up in school {now}, I’m able to grasp what’s being taught to me – I blame that on running.

I’ve always wanted to be healthy, and go to school. Now, I’m doing both of those things.”

Thank You to Accenture, from the BoMF DC members and volunteers! Your support helps to keep us going! We hope you enjoyed this Day of Service as much as we did.

Out of the dorms and onto the streets, students from SEED’s School of Washington experienced first-hand the trials and tribulations of a homeless life. For 45 hours total, they had no place to live or call “home”. They spent their days carrying around belongings, showering in sinks & trying to find places where they felt welcomed, or even accepted. At night, they slept through a cool autumn evening and found a new appreciation for the simple comfort of a bed.

Students learned a lot of lessons over the course of their “Slumber Party”, realizing what little things make our daily lives easier, convenient and comfortable. Through their reflections, they shared new-found respect for what individuals experiencing homelessness go through every day. Some students found a new gratitude for their education, finding a new source of motivation to continue through college and make a life for themselves. Others realized how many little things they often take for granted – technology, showers, a place to leave your belongings every day – and discovered a new sympathy and respect for people around them who don’t always have these luxuries.

We were honored and humbled to work with the SEED School of Washington’s students & staff, and inspired by their reflections! Read below to learn more about how the participants fared, and how their outlook on the issue of Homelesness has shifted:

What did you learn from being homeless for three days?

“I learned that college is more important than I thought. Homeless is unfair.” Devin Rainey

“I learned that most homeless people have a really hard time finding sleeping space in various weathers…they are not necessarily welcomed everywhere.” Larreanna Williams

“You also can’t be addicted to material things you need other things to do to stimulate your mind.” Carin Carter

“I learned that people who are homeless have to carry a heavy load (literally). I learned that homelessness occurs because of more reasons than finances. Being homeless doesn’t mean that you have less education or less worth than anyone else.” Aliaih Peterson

Do you think participating in the “Back on My Feet Slumber Party”changed your point of view about being homeless?

“Yes, because my value on life changed. I learned not to take the smallest things for granted.” Clifton Drummond

“Yes, because I thought homelessness was the person fault. I realized it is sometimes the situation you’ve been placed in.” Devin Rainey

“Yes, I think it did change my point of view because I got to see how they handle hard situations and how they have to overcome them.” Keyana Matthews

To the SEED School of Washington, students & staff: Thank you for taking on this challenge, and letting Back on My Feet DC be a part of it!

Back on My Feet at the BRF

October for American Rescue Workers (ARW) was an amazing and exciting time. As the temperatures started to dip, our spirits stayed high! Patrick instilled Fun Fridays to keep that momentum going. No matter if it was Crazy Hat Fun Friday or Favorite Sports Team Fun Friday, Team ARW got up ready for fun on the run!

The Baltimore Running Festival had a lot of firsts for the team – with many members running their first marathon or half marathon. Floyd sped through the finish line at 2:15 – very impressive for his first half marathon! Quentin teamed up with three guys from Christopher’s Place to run a relay – beating the rest of his team’s splits! Finally, Harold PR’d from Nikia’s Nippy Nor’easter 5k with a time of 36:06. Alumni Darius ran a really strong half too! Thanks to Harold, Kevin, and the rest of Team ARW for helping at the Mile 22 water stop – we never could have run those last couple miles without your tasty beverages!

In other very exciting Team ARW news, Kevin A. was inducted as a Back on My Feet Baltimore Alumni. Current Alumni Darius was on hand to present Kevin with his monumental award along with a few touching words. We are so proud of Kevin as he moves his life forward with a great big smile on his face! Stay cool Kevin!

October was a big month for team Baltimore Station. At long last, October 15^th brought the Baltimore Running Festival – the pinnacle of many impressive training efforts. We had two residential members participate in the half marathon, Len L. with a time of 1:53:16, and Gary A. with a time of 2:41:33. It was Gary’s first half marathon, and Len pointed out that he had run another half more than 20 years ago only a couple minutes faster. As he put it, age has not slowed him down very much! We also fielded a marathon relay team, with three of the four spots taken up by Baltimore Station members. Kenny M., Sam M., and George H. each ran a leg of approximately 6.5 miles. Another runner from Philadelphia joined them to fill out the team. Eight of our non-residential members joined the party as well, many running the half marathon.

Team Christopher’s Place also had a great showing at the Baltimore Running Festival with more than 15 non-residential members running, and almost all of our residential members participating as well! Kani, George, and James all ran the 5k, while Jerome, Solomon, Abdullah, and Steven raced in the relay! Brian cut 30 minutes off his marathon time and Dominique completed his first marathon and crossed the finish line with the support of team Christopher’s Place and other Back on My Feet Baltimore runners. If you haven’t seen this video yet, chronicling his journey, you have to check it out! Even Tony and Ricky, alumni, came out to cheer us all on, and several Christopher’s Place teammates manned the BoMF water stop. It was a day many of us will never forget.

In other news, many of our members are also are looking forward to the Tuerk House 5k on November 5^th to cut time off of their previous races.

Finally, Team Christopher’s Place is happy to report that Erick got a job working for the MTA and Michael got a new job in the kitchen at the NSA. We’re also very excited to celebrate the alumni induction of Johnathan and Brian this month.

October was also a great month for Team Helping Up Mission Baltimore (THUMB)!  Many of our teammates ran in the Baltimore Running Festival, with several running a distance for the first time. It was quite a celebration with all five Baltimore teams as well as Philly and D.C. in attendance.  Here is a recap of the time for the members who ran:  5k – Eric L. 34:50, Stefan B. 28:49, and Bryant J. 30:07.  Relay (approx. 7 miles) – Eric B.  1:07:00. Half Marathon – Nicko R. 2:05:13, Tim B. 1:58:25, Steven W. 3:11:53, and Dave H. 2:11:10. Marathon – Barry B. 4:44:54 and Mike B. 3:46:52. We are so proud of all our runners!

Not only did Eric L. run the 5k at the Baltimore Running Festival this month, on October 7^th he graduated from Helping Up Mission. Congrats, Eric! Steven W. celebrated 250 miles with the team and ran his first half marathon while Mike B. passed 500 miles and completed his first marathon!

Team MCVET also had an exciting October. Alumni member Carlos entered the Baltimore County Fire Department. Residential members Tim, Ja-Aura, and Jay all ran their first half marathons at the Baltimore Running Festival, while Kevin and Henry ran the 5k. Alums Greg and Arnold ran the half marathon at BRF and also ran the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct 30 (the third marathon for both of them). Greg was inducted into alumni status on October 27^th. Finally, non residential member Ricky O. left for a year-long deployment with his Airborne Unit in Kuwait. Our thoughts are with him and we are looking forward to running with him when he returns!

This weekend ended with another race-day success! The Back on My Feet DC chapter teamed up and headed to the Baltimore Running Festival.  We were well represented by our veteran racers, with a few first-time marathoners in the mix!

This was the first marathon for our resident members Smiley, Marque E., Marvin O. and Dave W. Chris & Walter – both ultra marathon runners, who recently ran as part of our Ragnar Relay team – were our veteran marathoners. Our volunteers & members had a great day cheering on our runners, along with the 5,000 other racers tackling the longest distance of the day!

All of our racers crossed the finish line in under 5 1/2 hours – Walter even came away with a new marathon PR. A huge congrats goes out to all who participated!

Click here for more photos from the weekend.

The Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon is still one month away, but the some students are already taking action and doing their part. DC’s Eastern High School hosted their own Mini-walk today, with excellent attendance and spirited walkers!

Anyone can host a “Mini-walk“, and they are a great way to get the community around you involved in the Help the Homeless program. These walks are “a group of people coming together to walk in support of one of the Help the Homeless nonprofit service providers“ - such as Back on My Feet. A mini-walk can be hosted by any group, or community, such as athletic teams, neighborhoods, university/college clubs, schools, etc.

We’re honored that the students and faculty at Eastern High School organized this event! We’re looking forward to more mini-walks, as we all gear up for the big Walkathon on the National Mall, held on November 19, 2011.

On Sunday, October 2, the Back on My Feet DC teams participated in the Woodrow Wilson Half Marathon race. The runners completed 13.1 miles starting in Alexandria, VA and traveling to the finish line in National Harbor, MD.

This race was part of the Pacers Events 2011 Race Series, and benefited Back on My Feet.

Resident member runners Dave W., David C, Thornell M. and Marvin O. ran strong and hard representing the Clean & Sober Streets team.  The Emery House team was represented by Marque E., Chris H. and Scotty W. crossing the finish line. From Blair House, we had Tyrone D. & Shon K..

Congrats to all of our half-marathon finishers, who had a great race day and even some Personal Records out there on the course! We had a great time running with you, cheering you on and watching accomplish another goal.

The Rugged and Raw 10K/20K Trail Run benefitting Back on My Feet on October 22 is more than just a race. It is more than a physical challenge to overcome. You are becoming a part of a greater purpose and providing an opportunity for those facing homelessness to break down walls that prevent them from moving forward.

By participating in this race you are supporting those who want to change for the better and want to become a part of society by engaging in the workplace. Helping others just takes small steps but impacts them greatly. Why not take a chance at transforming someone’s life? Share some of the transformations you’ve witnessed over the past eight months with Back on My Feet Dallas-Fort Worth in the comments section.

Register for the Rugged and Raw 10K/20K and trek down the scenic trails of Lake Grapevine on October 22^nd.

Back on My Feet was the official charity of this year’s Washington DC Ragnar Relay. The Baltimore and DC chapters joined forces to create three relay teams of twelve runners to compete in the series this past weekend, and all of our runners did an amazing job!

Team member, Dominic R., was featured in the Baltimore Sun’s article, “Ragnar Relay a step on the path to recovery for some“.  He has been running with our Baltimore team since February, completing multiple 5Ks, and already training for a half marathon next month!

Our teams were made up of residents & volunteers, who all came together to complete the 198 mile journey. The race started on Friday in Cumberland, MD, taking the runners (and support crew!) through the Appalachian Mountains and towns of Maryland, ending in Washington DC on Saturday afternoon.

Running through the night, up the hills and around the towns brought us back to the National Harbor and across the final finish line.

Congratulations to our runners and volunteers!

We also want to say Thank You, to all of our Fundracers and fundraisers for joining us in this challenge.  We had a great time partnering with the event and motivating our team members to tackle the weekend-long race!