December 14th, 2010:

If you read my initial post, you know a few things about me.  Namely, I sleep too much, I like to run, I don’t spend enough time getting ready for work, and I wake up early to run with residents of a homeless shelter in Downtown Crossing.  What value exists in pulling some shelter residents out of bed before 6AM to go for a run?  Plenty.  How did I get involved? Forget word of mouth – it was word of shirt.  If there is such a thing.

After a few years away, I moved back to Boston in May 2010.  Shortly thereafter, I began to spend a lot of time running.  In July, I signed up to run the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5-miler in Southie.  When I got there, I saw a whole crowd of people wearing shirts that said:

Today, I was part of a movement that connects people through running and reminds us that while there are some differences between us, there are many more similarities.  Today was a good day.

I had no idea what the shirts advertised, but the crowd of folks wearing them were joking, having fun.  Some were fast, some were slow, but despite different paces, they all seemed to be running together.  I was running alone.  I finished the race, headed to the T, and wondered what those shirts, which included the Back On My Feet logo, were all about.

By the time I got home, I’d forgotten all about it.

Days later, I remembered, googled, and was intrigued by this concept.  Running, as a means of teaching work and life skills to residents of homeless shelters.  Using their attendance, attitude, dedication to morning runs to gain access to job training, housing assistance, and help paying for and attaining education.  Intriguing, indeed.  Especially since I’d not noticed a single homeless person in that crowd of runners.

A lifelong runner myself, I could evidence upticks in productivity and personal satisfaction when I was most engaged in running.  Was it possible that what worked for me could work for the city’s most troubled?

I filled out the online interest form.  A few weeks later, I got an email confirming an evening orientation session, where nearly a dozen gathered to learn about the program. Vic Acosta, Boston Chapter Program Director, filled me with hope, enthusiasm, and energy – from that moment, I knew that Back On My Feet would be my kind of group.

A few days later, I set that early morning alarm for the first time.

I met the team – residents and non-residents both – that morning.  We ran a few miles, and I went home to prepare for work, still not knowing which runners were the residents.  Then, I began to really understand the power of Back On My Feet: on those early mornings, we weren’t residents or non-residents, we were teammates.

I was in the right place.