Molly and Ed at the launch of Team Manchester

Molly was first introduced to Back on My Feet when she helped the National staff plan the Luncheon Launch at the JW Marriott before the local staff was in place. Molly joined the team in November as a non-res and has been very supportive and instrumental in helping with anything BoMF needs when asked.We are very appreciative of everything Molly is willing to do for BoMF!

Shoe Size?  8

Favorite post run food? Loved the chocolate covered cherries and hot chocolate at the Santa Hustle 

How many half marathons/5ks have you done? (2) half marathons and countless 5ks

Favorite race you’ve ever done? Santa Hustle and my first half marathon

What half marathons have you done? I did the 500 Festival Mini Marathon twice

Favorite music? Country

Favorite vacation spot? Disney World and Cinque Terre, Italy

Bucket list item you plan to cross off soon?

I did my first sprint triathlon and loved it. My goal is to work up to doing an Olympic triathlon this summer. I’d also love to do the Disney half marathon!

Why do you run?

Some people look at running as something they have to do. I look at it as something I love to do. Whether it’s early in the morning or after a long day, running is my time to escape from the busyness of daily life.

Family?  

My mom and dad (Tim and Diane Paschal), two sisters (Meagan Cole and Abbe Paschal), brother-in law (Mark Cole), and two nephews (Owen and Drew Cole) are the seven most important people in my life. I am extremely blessed to have such an amazing and supportive family.

How did you hear about BoMF? What has BoMF meant to you?  Why did you stick with it?

I first heard about BoMF when I was working at the JW Marriott as an Event Manager. I was put in charge of organizing the BoMF luncheon at the JW to celebrate their launch in Indianapolis. I was so moved by Anne’s story and her commitment to the cause that I knew I wanted to give back in some way. I began running with them at the end of November and I was immediately hooked!

Over the last few months of running, BoMF has become more than just a volunteer opportunity or a way to give back to my community. I have seen the amazing things that come out of this organization. It has become something that I truly believe in and am passionate about. I have built wonderful relationships with both the res and non-res members and it’s definitely these individuals that motivate and inspire me to wake up at 4:30am and run!

Advice for people who might want to start running with BoMF?

Do it! Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t a marathon runner. While BoMF is a running group, it is made up of people with all different running backgrounds. It is more about building the relationships and working towards a common goal together.

A huge CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU goes out to all of our SunTrust Rock N Roll USA FundRacers, runners, and cheerleaders! It was a great day for a race – sunny and 60 degrees – and everyone really enjoyed the course…especially at Mile 11, which featured the Back on My Feet Cheer Station! Special congratulations to the many who ran their first Marathon or Half Marathon, along with our res members, Sam S, Chris H, Walter B (Emery), Michael “Heavy” H (La Casa), Tyrone D (Blair), Orlando Holley, Hermon Blount, George Johnson, Dave W, Rodan H, and L Smiley (CSS). 

Thanks to our 100 FundRacers who we were able to raise $42,215 AND to SunTrust who provided a matching grant worth $20,000! Back on My Feet was welcomed to the stage prior to the race start, where we were able to take a picture with BoMF Founder & President Anne Mahlum and Scott Wilfong, President and CEO of SunTrust Bank, greater Washington/Maryland. Click here to watch the WUSA 9 piece on Back on My Feet in the SunTrust Rock N Roll USA races!

The sound of dimly lit street lamps buzzing in the darkness of the chilled morning air can be heard for miles. No cars are existent at the intersection of West and Washington in downtown Indianapolis. The waters of the canal below gently ripple with the crisp breeze that sweeps across and through surrounding foliage.

All is calm this morning. This morning of March 8 is sure to be a promising one for the man who waits on the corner of West and Washington.

Wearing brand new tennis shoes and navy blue sweat suit, the man awaits the moment, the moment that he and hundreds of locals have been waiting to celebrate together.

The man rises to his feet and begins to jog to the west, where those locals await him. Jogging. The simple act of jogging with a community is what this day is all about for him.

“Woo hoo! Now we’re talkin’!” Wylie Belasik said through a bull horn borrowed from headquarters. “Man, does Indy have spirit.”

To some, encouragement is the key to their success in everything they do. For this man, the small gesture of gathering together in a circle is all it takes.  People of different backgrounds, races, and religions gathering together, forming one community was all it took. Read more…

The Indianapolis teams have been moving forward one step at a time, at a steady and consistent pace. On Wednesday, March, 30^th both teams were honored to be joined by an amazing group of General Managers from Marriott Hotels across the Country. Teams Progress House and HVAF started the morning at the JW Marriott downtown, reunited for the first time since our March 8^th launch. Although the two teams practice three days a week, at different locations, they are still very much players on the same team. They will always be the first members of the Indianapolis teams. This is an incredible group of people, full of energy, hope and excitement for what the future holds.

To share our joy and progress with the group of individuals from Marriott was extraordinary.  Every morning run is meaningful, but there is power in numbers. To finish a run, ending in a sea of people who have created a human tunnel waiting to slap your hand and tell you good job, feels absolutely amazing. Suddenly you are the most significant person in that group, at least for those fifteen seconds you run past the people- who are all cheering for you.

On this special day, I had the privilege to run with one of the Veterans on team HVAF, Ron Gephart. Ron has been a trooper since day one, he knows his pace, slow and steady – and he is comfortable right there. Ron is a quiet guy, but dig a little deep and you will learn a thing or two. During our run, I learned that Ron’s favorite pizza topping is pepperoni, and he traveled to sixteen different countries over the course of two years while in the service.

All the while this was going on, there were dozens of other folks running together, learning a little bit about the person running next to them. As if this morning wasn’t significant enough with such a huge group of supporters, Marriott International presented Back on My Feet with a check for $10,000. Wow. Marriott never fails to amaze us with their generous giving and incredible support. Thank you, Marriott, we are tremendously grateful.  Also, thank you to every individual who came out and ran with us– it was an amazing start to the day!

What a weekend! Dallas, and Texas, is buzzing with the news of the Back on My Feet launch and we are excited to offer up this brief but all encompassing recap of events that led to our first chapter in the Lone Star State.

Run On!, the Dallas chapter’s running store partner, hosted a shoe fitting on Saturday morning for 30 of our residential members and offered up beanies, t-shirts, shoes and socks. Needless to say, the store was packed with members from all over Dallas and included some of our very good friends from New Balance. Run On! was extremely accommodating and had seven employees come in to help with the fitting . The local Einstein’s also donated breakfast for everyone. The shoe fitting was an excellent example of how multiple companies in Dallas gave what they could and produced an outstanding and far-reaching event! You can see more photos from the shoe fitting here. Our residential members were literally dancing in the aisles of the store. Thank you Run On!, New Balance and Einstein’s!

Of course all of the energy from the morning shoe fitting carried over to the actual launch run on Monday morning. Yes, it was Valentine ’s Day, but many of our members were preoccupied with what some have confirmed as one of the most important moments of their lives. The Monday morning run began with 100+ members at the Main Street Garden Park in downtown Dallas at 5:45 a.m. led by Wylie Belasik, VP of Programming and cowboy hat enthusiast, the run started with television cameras from channels 4, 5, 11 and 33. Look to this blog for some of the exciting media coverage in the future!

After the one mile run, ACE Cash Express executives were excited to hand over a check in the amount of $18,000 to Anne and the rest of the Back on My Feet Dallas team.  We could not have pulled off the launch without the extensive help of our sponsors. They are incredibly supportive and have been our biggest advocates. Thank you ACE, Accenture, Marriott and Holt Lunsford Commercial!

Registration for breakfast began promptly at 8 a.m. at the Marriott City Center in Dallas. The Marriott team worked with the Dallas team almost every day for the month leading up to the event and the work paid off as guests were treated to 600+ gift bags, t-shirts, water bottles and a hot breakfast.

The program featured Terri Dolan of Marriott, Jay Shipowitz of ACE Cash Express, Mike Rawlings, a Dallas mayoral candidate, Kevin Pollari of Accenture, Anne Mahlum and Charlie Tiller, a Baltimore alumni member. The entire audience was mesmerized by Charlie’s story and gave him a standing ovation at the end of his speech.

As they say, everything is bigger in Texas, and this launch did not disappoint. The people of Dallas are excited and eagerly connecting with the Back on My Feet team to learn more and get involved. Look here for more great news from Texas!

Ed J. is a gentle giant.  Well over 6 feet tall and 200+ lbs he can be a quietly imposing individual.  That is until you get to know him.  Kindness and caring for the well being of others is evident in everything that Ed says and does.  His patience and understanding for what others are going through has set the tone for the Clean and Sober Streets team and his leadership by example keeps the CSS team together through the cold winter runs. Read more…

What a weekend for the Philadelphia chapter!

We had five residential members in the marathon, eight res members in the half and many non res in both races!  The festivities began on Saturday night with a pasta dinner hosted by Temple University’s School for Tourism and Hospitality.  Over 75 people attended the feast and heard marathon racing strategies from marathon veteran Dan Colameco.

Ahead of the race, CBS 3 profiled Malik Aziz, one of those five marathoners. Watch the piece here.

Runners and supporters gathered bright and early race day morning for stretching and our circle before toeing the line of this extra special event.  We had a huge circle that included many of our Fundracers and we were happy they got to experience BOMF.

Read more…

Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Ryan Photography

Back on my Feet Baltimore hit the dance floor in our cocktail attire and running shoes for the second annual BOMF Bash, held on Nov. 18th.

Hosted by Baltimore’s Corporate Sponsor of the Year, Baltimore Marriott , more than 200 BOMF members, supporters and friends gathered at the downtown Marriott Inner Harbor-Camden Yards for a night of celebration and recognition of our chapter’s many accomplishments.

Guests mingled throughout the ballrooms before dinner service, placing bids at the silent auction tables and taking photos at the photo booth by Elizabeth Ryan Photography. A slideshow of team photos was displayed in the main ballroom during dinner service. The night’s festivities were kicked off by Program Director Jackie Truncellito and Director of Member Services Nikia Williams, as Jackie officially welcomed the guests to the event.

Read more…

Our Founder and President Anne Mahlum wrote an op-ed for CNN.com:

Three and a half years ago, I ran a mile with nine men who were living at the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission in Philadelphia,. Wanting to start a running club at this homeless shelter came from passing this facility on my morning run and seeing a group of men congregating outside on the corner.

I was quickly drawn to them as they reminded me a lot of my dad, who I love dearly but unfortunately has suffered from addiction to drugs, alcohol and gambling for much of his life.

My dad and I have always had a very special, sarcastic rapport and one of the hardest things I have gone through was being a teenager and not being able to figure out a way to save my dad from his gambling addiction, which ended up tearing apart our family. MORE

Read the rest here.

On Wednesday Nov. 3rd, some pretty amazing people all convened in one room to celebrate the six month mark since Back on My Feet Washington D.C. launched in March.

Board members, supporters, non-resident volunteers, fundracers, staff, res members and potential donors to the organization got together to celebrate and commend one another on their outstanding leadership efforts over the past six months.

Read more…