Back On My Feet

You should know by now from half of my recent blog posts that: “David and I will be running the Marine Corps Marathon this coming Sunday October 25, 2009 in Washington, DC. This will be my 11^th and David’s 1^st full marathon!” I’m a broken record, I know.

We have been running 4-5 days a week for the past 18 weeks and together have run a total of 744 miles. How far have YOU run since June huh? Just kidding!

Obstacles With Training

As with many plans and goals, there are things that go wrong along the way that set you back. Bad weather, personal commitments, work commitments, long travel days, sick/sore days, and days when we've just been plain too tired to get up and run are some of many reasons that we've skipped a day or two of our training over the weeks. But dealing with setbacks in marathon training is fairly similar to dealing wtih setbacks in life. When things go wrong you can stop, acknowledge what went wrong, decide how you can get back on track, and try not to let it happen again. We've been doing this for the past 4 ½ months and have both stuck pretty close to our original training plan!

Running For A Reason

About 6 weeks into our training we decided that we wanted to make our training miles more meaningful by fundraising for a charity. We looked at the numerous charities formally associated with the Marine Corps Marathon and decided that we wanted to pick a charity that we either had a personal or family connection to, or one that would directly affect the local community that we’d be running in. After researching the various charities for a couple weeks we landed back on one charity that originally caught my eye: Back On My Feet.

Why we chose BOMF

We first learned about Back On My Feet from an article in Runner’s World. The story was really compelling and really showed how something as simple as running and bringing people together in a group to run could drastically improve people’s lives.

About BOMF

Back on My Feet is a non-profit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of the homeless population by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem.

Back on My Feet does not provide food nor does it provide shelter, but instead provides a community that embraces equality, respect, discipline, teamwork and leadership. There are no labels, no stigmas and no stereotypes. At Back on My Feet, all members - regardless of race, education or socioeconomic status - join together to move their own lives forward as well as the lives of their teammates.

Why I Want To Help

I've spent the majority of my life in major metropolitan cities which have all had large homeless populations. I've struggled over the years with wanting to help but not wanting to give money in the form of handing over cash. I really like knowing that the money that we are raising for this program is directly helping someone in need who actually wants the help, and the help is provided in a structured program with proven results. I feel that the greater Washington DC area and communities in Maryland and Virginia are giving me a great place to race and are providing a setting for a world-class event, and in turn I’d like to give back to people whose life and world the race is in.

How You Can Help

If you would like to contribute to our fundraising efforts, you can do so by going to our fundraising page (click here). If you aren't able to at this time, that’s okay too. Instead please think of us this coming Sunday from 7am to 11am EST. Think positive thoughts for us and send good vibes for a great race and great experience! We’re really happy with the amount that we've been able to raise so far, but of course are hoping to contribute a bit more before the week is over.

Thank you in advance, we really appreciate your support!