In June, Back on My Feet Baltimore got to showcase our spirit at the Baltimore 10 Miler! Not only did we have a huge crew of runners, but we had the most spirited water stop at mile 9. It was a great day for Back on My Feet Baltimore and we look forward to this race again next year.

The 6k/30day challenge has taken place in June, which is a challenge to see if the Baltimore and Washington, DC chapters could run 6,000 miles in 30 days. Baltimore’s goal is 4,000 miles and was easily going to crush this! Over 100 people pledged for the miles run and at the end of the month Back on My Feet will have raised thousands of dollars for the local chapters. The spirit in Baltimore around this challenge has been as amazing as everything we do as a chapter!
May closed out with our alumni induction ceremony where several members of our team moved on to the next part of their journey with Back on My Feet. These members have secured jobs and stable housing and continue to move their lives forward. Even though they may not be able to come out and run very often, they are still loved by their teammates and an important part of our teams. In each of them we can see the success of Back on My Feet. At this ceremony, several members were also recognized as senior members for all of their hard work and accomplishments.

Beginning on July 2nd, two of our Baltimore teams, Baltimore Station and American Rescue Workers, will merge to form Team SoBo! On the morning of July, 2nd all Baltimore teams will come together and circle up in the Inner Harbor to launch the new team. This merger will help to strengthen the teams of South Baltimore and Back on My Feet Baltimore is very excited to have this awesome new team!
Training is about to begin for the Baltimore Running Festival, which is one of the premier events for Back on My Feet Baltimore. We will have teammates running the marathon, half marathon, marathon relay and the 5k as well volunteers at a water stop on the course. Over the next few months, dozens of teammates will train hard for this grand event.

Team Baltimore Station: June has been our last official month as team BSTAT, and what a phenomenal month it has been. We started out the first two days of the month by logging over 200 miles and seeing almost every single one of our active members in the circle… doesn’t get much better than that! We are thrilled to be on track to run 1,000 miles as a team this month, crushing our original goal and helping with the chapter’s 6k/30Day success. As for individual efforts, June saw great finishes in the Baltimore 10 Miler for Roderick, George, Len, Dana, Lissan, Kelcy, and Jessica, and our very own Fast Dan placed third place in the race! No doubt the encouragement at our BoMF water stop helped him to that finish; the stop was enthusiastically manned in part by BSTATers Eddie, Erin, Mark, Christine, Jared, Victoria, Bryan, and Sarah. We also welcomed Ervin and Kirt to our circle and are so happy to have them as new Res. As we transform into Team SoBo in July, we can’t wait to have even more new teammates. With so many people, we expect to make an even stronger showing in this year’s WipeOut! Look out, everyone, here comes SoBo!!

November was a great month for Back on My Feet Baltimore with good energy still lingering after the Baltimore Running Festival.  We kicked off the month at the Tuerk House 5k which is an annual race for us, and one at which we usually take home a few medals.  We met all expectations, with several residential and non-residential members placing not only in their division, but overall as well.

Later in the month we geared up for Sneaker Week and kicked off the promotion with a surprise flash mob at our morning run on the 14th.  The Baltimore Bash committee showed off their moves and gave everyone a sneak preview of how much fun the Bash will be.  Teams are continuing to compete to see who has the highest percentage of members attending and there will be a great showing of non-residential members this year.

The Philadelphia Marathon came and went this month and we had several non-residential members join the Philly crew to race.  We are winding down the marathon season and looking at darker, colder mornings for the foreseeable future, but people have already started talking about the D.C. Marathon and the Nikia Half so winter will be over before we know it.

In team news:

Team Baltimore Station (BSTAT) has been the scene for a lot of fast running, with the fall road racing season in full swing.  At the end of October, four of our non-residential members participated in the Marine Corps Marathon.  It was a cold day, but good for marathoning.  Erin M., Ben F., Chris L., and Christen V. all ran and did well!  A mere two weeks later, Ben also ran the Richmond Marathon.  We certainly had an impressive showing from our non-residential members.  On the5K front, three of our residential members ran the Tuerk House 5k, including Len L., Sam M., and George H.  It was a brisk morning, but once again, good for running races!  Having three of our residential members inducted into the Alumni Program left the team with more than a few open spots for new members. One of those spots was eagerly taken by Daniel B., who is off to a very, very fast start.  He is already doing three and four mile runs with ease.  He admits to struggling with the hills, but will be focusing on them to become a stronger runner!  BSTAT is also making sure to rally as many people as possible for the annual Bash.  We may not be the biggest team on the block, but we’ll represent with our professional dress and hot running sneakers!

Team Christopher’s Place has had a great month!  We saw Jerome win his age division at the Tuerk House 5k and he was joined by Ursula H. and Caroline S. as they placed in their divisions as well.  Erick was offered a full time position with the MTA and is gearing up to be very busy during the holiday season as people travel into the city for shopping.  Sarah O. and Kayla A. represented Team CP at the Philadelphia Marathon, which was Kayla’s first, and she also fund-raced for Back on My Feet.  Go Kayla!  November has definitely been a busy month, but we’re really looking forward to the Baltimore Bash and the Christmas Party in December.

Team Helping up Mission Baltimore (THUMB) enjoyed a fun month.  We thought things would slow down after the Baltimore Running Festival in October, but we had many great things carry us through this month.  First up was the Tuerk House 5k.  THUMB represented with Mike B. taking 3rd overall (20:45), Mike H. 4th overall (20:57) and Emily B. 3rd Female!  We had several more guys running:  Eric L. 36:25, Tim B. 23:28, Bill B. 35:09, Steven W. 35:10, Barry B. 24:55, Dave H. 26:16 and David F. 27:07.  Awesome job to all!  On November 17^th, THUMB attended Family Night at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.  Our teammate Charmaine S. was nice enough to invite our team and a group of more than 30 people attending.  The team had fun touring the aquarium, shopping in the gift shop for discounted gifts, and watching a 4D movie.

Team MCVET welcomed our newest residential member Duane to the team. Duane got busy racking up miles and ran his first race with the team at the Tuerk House 5k only a few short days later. Ja-Aura and Tim, having jumped into the racing world with a splash at the Baltimore Half, added the 5k distance to their resumes that day as well. Our own Lauren L. meanwhile took first place overall! In non-racing news, the team recognized Veterans Day by having all our residential members and non-residential veterans share their military experience with the rest of the team during the morning run on the 11^th.  We also kept Ricky in our thoughts, our non-residential member currently deployed in Kuwait, who sent us an email assuring us he’s still getting his runs in each and every morning before it gets too hot. Alumni member Arnold wasn’t able to join us during that morning’s run because he was already at work being interviewed by WBAL about his own experiences! We’re all excited for alumni-member Carlos to start training at the Fire Department Academy at the beginning of next month and alumni member Greg S. received a promotion at the Aquarium!

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!

Baltimore’s September Team Updates

With September nearly behind us and fall in the air, Back on My Feet Baltimore is looking forward to the Baltimore Running Festival, a day where we runners get the city all to ourselves!

September started on a very interesting note with the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix Indy Car race in town for the first weekend. The downtown racing course split the city in half, but that did not stop our teams from getting in their Saturday long run. Though all five teams could not meet up as normal, we arranged two separate meeting points so no one would miss their miles. Now that is dedication!

On Sunday the 18^th, the chapter attended an Orioles game at Camden Yards.  Back on My Feet was recognized at the game.  Even though the Orioles were blown out by the Angels 11-2, the group had a great time.

On the weekend of the 23^rd, Back on My Feet (Baltimore and D.C.!) sent numerous teams of runners and volunteers to participate in the Ragnar Relay, a 200 mile relay race from Cumberland, MD to Washington, D.C. Two 12-person teams participated including “Team BoMF Bmore/DC,” and “We Are the BoMF.” Those not running helped out at relay exchange zones and even cooked up some pancakes at one of the rest stops.  Don’t let the term “volunteer” fool you; they worked just as hard as the runners did!

With that, here are some highlights from the teams:

Baltimore Station has been focusing on diligently getting its miles in for the Baltimore Running Festival. Len has been very consistent and looks nearly ready for his first half marathon. He even participated in the Ragnar Relay, running some of the hardest and longest legs of the race. Gary has had a tough time getting his long runs in on Saturday, but thanks to the dedication of Training Coach Susan and Social Coordinator Dana, the three of them have been doing their runs on Fridays. Gary should definitely be ready for his half marathon! Get those miles in any way you can!

Christopher’s Place welcomed four new residential members this month, most of whom are super speedy. In his third week of running, Jerome kicked out a 23 minute 3-miler. Like whoa. James and Solomon reached their 10 miles in record time and George is learning to love those hills.

Kani, Dom, Erick and Tony all joined others from Christopher’s Place and Back on My Feet Baltimore for the Oriole’s game on September 18th. We had a great time, despite the team’s loss.

Our non-residential members have been super busy this month! Both Claire and Brendan qualified for the Boston Marathon! Jordyn ran the Rock and Roll Philly half! Amy M. competed in a triathlon and beat her PR by more than 10 minutes. She says it’s all that training for the Baltimore Running Festival that helped her shave that huge chunk off! Amy U. walked 60 miles for Breast Cancer and Sadie walked 30 miles for the National MS Society. We’re all over the place!

MCVET is proud to announce that Greg “The Road Runner” S. passed his GED exam! This was a great display of teamwork and support, as fellow Back on My Feet teammates Karem B., Erin H., Claire C., Kim C. and Mike M. all worked together to help Greg with his studies. Congratulations Greg!

Team Helping Up Mission Baltimore (THUMB) welcomed two new residential teammates in September, David F. & Bryant J. David & Bryant have already logged a few miles with the team and are really enjoying themselves.

Moses J. and Nicko R. celebrated completing 250 miles with the team, while Barry B. just completed 2,000 miles since joining Back on My Feet in 2009!  Nicko R. is training for his first half marathon and Barry is training to complete another marathon.

On September 16th, our teammate and friend, Steven W., graduated from Helping up Mission and celebrated one year of sobriety. Steven is training for his first half marathon and has several great things going on in his life. We are all so proud of him. Congratulations Steven!

We are getting closer to the Baltimore Running Festival on October 15^th. THUMB will have many teammates running the races, with several running this event for the very first time. We are really excited for the day to arrive. We have logged many miles in preparation and it is sure to be a great celebration for many of our teammates!

April has proved the first part of the saying “April showers, bring May flowers” to be true. We are hoping May will bring sunshine and flowers! Despite the lack of cooperation on Mother Nature’s part, eight of our ten active residential members have maintained 90% or greater attendance rates.

On April 16th, five of our residential members (Michael, Domingo, Javier, Issac, Maurice) and four non-residential members ran the CARA Lakefront 10 Miler race.  It was rainy, cold, and windy but, we all had fun and it marked Javier’s longest run to date and Maurice’s first race. Team members Raydent, Alex, and Sara helped provide hydration at the BoMF aid station at mile 6 of the race.

On April  23rd, some of our team met the other two Chicago BoMF teams at Lawson House YMCA for a fun morning of running around the city on a photo scavenger hunt. It was a great way to get in miles while having fun and getting to know the other teams better. Read more…

Coming off of the season of thanks, we have plenty to be thankful for at ARW.  This past month we celebrated the work of Deirdre, Karen and Ber as they officially stepped down as team CORE leaders.  They have been on board with the team since March when we first rumbled the streets of Fed Hill.  We would honestly not be where we are now without their time and effort consistently being there to support the team.  Now on board are Jenny L. (Social), Michelle B. (Non-res), and Ryan G. (Coach) who all stepped into open CORE roles on the team.  We are glad to have their energetic support as we move forward into 2011.

Also new to the team is resident Shaka Ifill, who shows a lot of enthusiasm in the mornings, even recently during some really cold days.  He greets everyone in the circle warmly and is taking the initiative to be a significant part of the team.  Deserving of another shout out during these cold days is Joseph.  The rough and snowy weather and darker mornings makes it more difficult for Brother Joe to maneuver quite the same as he was able to when he was wearing those stylish tank tops during the summer.  Regardless, Joe consistently makes the effort to be out for morning runs.  Joe also brightened all of BOMF’s evening at the holiday party with a thought-filled blessing before we celebrated the holidays together.

The next day after the party served as one of December’s highlights as Brian C. tried his best to beat the Guinness record for most “Running Santas” as he supplied suits for James, Kevin, Tyler, and Deirdre (& himself) and ran the race alongside Mark W., Sue, Bonnie, and others from BOMF.   Kevin hit five miles for the first time, as did James, who was playing a game of tag with Nikia all the way to the finish!

Another highlight from December was Darius’ graduation from JumpStart, a thirteen-week long training program from apprentices in construction.  Darius stood proud at his ceremony with many of his teammates close by cheering him on with the loudest showing of all graduate supporters at the ceremony. (Thank you Kamika Williams, among others!)

It’s a long December, but there’s reason to believe, that maybe this year will be better than the last.

Santa! I know him! - ARW at the Celtic Solstice

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For November’s team update, 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.  Baltimore Station’s team video is shared below:

BOMF Baltimore – Baltimore Station

Baltimore Station’s November Members of the Month are below:

RESIDENTIAL MEMBER OF THE MONTH: MITCH N.Shoe size: 12

Member since: September 2009

Number of Miles accumulated: 439.5

Best BOMF moment: When I beat George Hall at the Tuerk House 5K

Biggest challenge with running: Staying injury free, running up hills

Goal in the next three months: Move out on my own

What do you think about when you’re running?: Finishing  

What was your last race and how did you do?: Tuerk House 5K, 30:54 

Favorite Post Race meal?: B12 vitamins for energy 

What advice would you give a brand-new runner?: Stick with it! 

“It’s never a dull morning with Mitch running. Not only does he bring a lot of laughter, but his running has improved dramatically over the past few months.” – Anni Irvine, Team Leader

 NON-RESIDENTIAL MEMBER OF THE MONTH: CHRIS C. Shoe size: 12

Member since: August 2009

Best BOMF moment: Running with the mayor on our first birthday with all the Baltimore city chapters together. Seeing that many people on the right track in life was inspirational.

Biggest challenge with running: Lugging around 230 lbs at 5:30 in the morning.

Goal in the next three months: Recover from the NYC Marathon, and hit the training circuit hard in the new year for my first triathlon in May 2011.

What do you think about when you’re running?: Running is spiritual for me. I’m usually conversing with God about where I’ve come from and where I’m going in life.

What was your last race and how did you do?: NYC Marathon, completed by running the whole time and squeezed in 21 seconds ahead of my goal at 4:29:39.

Favorite post-race meal?: A big, juicy steak, complete with a regretless intake of calories.

What advice would you give a brand new runner?: There is no better feeling than achievement through adversity. Running may not be easy but it sure is rewarding.

“Chris is always a great person to see at 5:30 in the morning. He is energetic, encouraging, and has such a positive outlook.” – Anni Irvine, Team Leader

Chris C., November Member of the Month

Mitch N., Baltimore Station November Member of the Month

Fall has been a great season for the Lawson House team! Our veteran runners are challenging their limits with more than a few receiving their 50 mile medals! We also welcomed new members who started braving the cold mornings with us and are already picking up the pace. Our very own BOMF Thanksgiving Feast-er 5K was a huge success as we took over the lakefront path with the rest of BOMF Chicago. The Thanksgiving meal after the run satisfied runners and supporters alike as we chatted and exchanged recipes. While we’re all winners, some of the Lawson House team even took away an award. Needless to say, no one went away hungry! Saturday morning long runs have begun and we’re ready for the challenge, as well as the later start time! Although the temperatures are dropping we won’t let it get in the way of a great run and look forward to tackling the Chicago winter running season!
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Team Rest Chicago ran full-force into the month of October.

With our inaugural run on September 24^th, we embarked upon amazing journeys that lead us to entertainment and excitement, milestones and motivation, and inspiration and injury.

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What a whirlwind this first month BOMF Chicago has had!

After kicking off BOMF’s Chicago chapter launch with an awesome turn out at the YMCA Lawson House, the Lawson House team hasn’t slowed down. We started October by joining other BOMF Chicago chapters in our first social event on Oct. 2nd. Residents and non-residents enjoyed a fun run and cook out in Columbus Park with a raffle including items from Ryan Hall and the Hall Steps Foundation.

With a location right by the four-mile marker of the Chicago Marathon, the Lawson House team had a prime spot to cheer on the 38,000+ runners. They came with shirts, signs and unlimited high-fives and encouraging cheers! Perhaps with motivation from the marathon madness, our team is already up to 3 mile runs in the quiet early morning. Though our runs are over before the sun rises it’s all smiles and chatter as we take on the streets of downtown!

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