April has been a good month for the Lake View YMCA team! Residential member attendance has improved and mileage has increased! Joe and Carmelo trained hard for the CARA FirstMerit Bank Lakefront 10 Miler on April 28^th. It was Carmelo’s longest race and he finished in an impressive 1:29:03! Joe finished just a little behind Carmelo in 1:31:21. Congrats to both Joe and Carmelo on a great race! Raymond and Jay braved the elements and volunteered at the aid station. Thanks for your support!

Outside of running, our residential members have been taking advantage of Back on My Feet’s programming courses. Four residential members attended Harris Bank’s Financial Literacy course on Credit Counseling and two attended Accenture’s Tools for Success course focused on job search and online identity.

On May 12th, all four Back on My Feet Chicago teams gathered at Montrose Harbor for the American Brain Tumor Association’s Breakthrough for Brain Tumors 5k. Despite inclement weather, participants had a great time competing in the race, with some even setting personal records. Back on My Feet was thrilled to participate in this race for the second year in a row and to support such a great cause.

In addition to running the race, Back on My Feet also hosted an aid station, where residential and non-residential members, along with several DLC employees, passed out water and cheered on runners!

Thank you to ABTA for allowing us to join you at this fun race! View more pictures from the event here.

Kyle, Dave, and JP taking the 'scenic' route of the Carmel 1 Mile Fun Run!

JP came to the Back on My Feet program at the beginning of February of this year after having two strokes late in 2011. These strokes caused him to lose feeling in the left side of his body, his speech was impaired, and his walking ability was greatly affected. Physical Therapy helped him to relearn to walk, talk, and use his hands. When he joined the program, he was barely off of walking with a cane and was lucky to walk a full 20 minutes. Since joining, we have seen JP walk up to an hour and a half and increase his speed as well as his distance. JP has a goal along with the Progress House Team Coach Joe that he will be running in 6 months in the program. JP is strong willed and we know he will accomplish this goal in that time frame!

Running Shoe Size: 12

Hometown/Family: Clinton, IN  2 Daughters, 2 Granddaughters

Favorite Athlete: Brett Farve because he was always dependable, played hurt, was always on the field to play

Favorite Music: Country! Anything by Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney

Favorite Post Run Food: Fruit, especially bananas and I LOVE bacon!

Why did you join BoMF?

I played football in college and was always active before the strokes. I saw other teammates in the house talking and joking around and I saw Brian after a practice but was walking with a cane still. Brian said if I could get walking without a cane, he would let me join. I pushed myself hard to walk without the cane to be a self walker. Since joining, I look forward to the smiles and attitudes and I feel I am at home. BoMF has plugged me back into life. I learned to ask for people’s help when I was first recovering from the strokes and my life has changed from that moment. BoMF helps me to continue to ask for help when I need it.

Why Progress House? What were you overcoming?

My Neurologist recommended after having two strokes caused by alcohol within a month of each other I come to live at Progress House.

What races have you been a part of with BoMF?

Participated: Carmel 1 Mile Fun Run, Bull Dog Jog

Volunteered/Cheered: Polar Bear Doubler, Legacy Loop 5k, Carmel Half Marathon/8k, Geist Half Marathon/5k

In your spare time, what do you like to do?

Read a lot, learn to ride a motorcycle again, see my grandkids, meet new people, I love people!

How has BoMF helped you recover from your two strokes?

I am able to walk better, close to normal again. I have gained a confidence I didn’t think I could ever have, I interact with people like never before. My balance is coming back and will continue to get stronger with time. My speech is getting better; I have a positive outlook on life and I have learned that everything is possible if you surround yourself with positive people. With BoMF, I am learning things aren’t problems, just solutions and BoMF gives me the drive to reach out and try something. My doctors can’t believe the progress I am making, and the progress would not be possible without Back on My Feet!

JP’s BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals):

1. I want to run someday.

2. Plug back into the workforce and do something with my free time.

3. Be more giving, thank those who have given so much to me.

4. Do whatever I can to give back to Back on My Feet because of everything they have given me. I can’t thank them enough, their support is priceless!

Leona, JP, and Kelli before the start of the Geist Half Marathon

While Glenn has only been a member of the St. Leonard’s Back on My Feet team since March, he has already proven to his teammates that good things will come your way when you work hard and maintain a good attitude. Glenn recently graduated from Inspiration Corporation’s Advanced Culinary Arts training and already has a job and an apartment lined up for next month!

His motivation and drive can be seen in his running as well. He has already accrued over 60 miles and is one of the St. Leonard’s team’s strongest runners! Glenn’s positive attitude is contagious, and team members can always count on him to greet them with a smile!

Glenn can tell you what Back on My Feet means to him:

“Back on My Feet has energized me to be a better person and to keep me focused on what my life should be. It’s more than just running. There’s a message behind it that makes you feel important and strong and makes you love yourself. When you really want something you need to strive for it and work hard for it. You can do anything you set your mind to. Stay focused and take everything one day at a time. Then when you get something you have to learn how to give back.”

On Saturday, May 5th, Back on My Feet staff, residential members and non-residential members traveled to Kenosha, WI to volunteer as course marshalls at the Wisconsin Marathon and Half Marathon! It was an exciting day for all, especially Mingo, who had never been to Wisconsin before! Even though they had a long day (they left Chicago at 6am and didn’t return until 2pm), everyone had a ton of fun! It is always exciting to be on the other side of a race and give back to the running community!

Congratulations to YMCA Lawson House non-residential team member Jennifer for completing the marathon!

Thank you to everyone that volunteered with us and to the Wisconsin Marathon and Half Marathon for letting us take part in this great event!

Sam, James and Amy before the start of the Polar Bear Doubler

Home Town/Family: Oklahoma City, 2 sons

Fav Athletes: Peyton Manning

Fav Music:  Enya

Fav Beverage: Coffee, Mountain Dew

Fav Quote: “You only fail if you give up.”

In what branch did you serve? U.S. Navy, 12 years

Most memorable BoMF memory? The finish line at the Bull Dog Jog at Butler University. Everyone was waiting at the finish line giving high fives.

Why did you come out for the BoMF team?  There were a few reasons: 1) I always enjoyed running, 2) begin to learn to deal with people again, and 3) it was a group (all vets) in which we were all a family.

What’s the most challenging aspect of your life right now and how are you meeting that challenge? The most challenging aspect of my life right now would have to be medical issues. I have a back surgery and knee surgeries coming up. I’m just taking it one day at a time.

What races have you run in with BoMF? Which one was your fav? I’ve participated in the Legacy Loop 5k, Polar Bear 3 miler, Big Ten Hoops 5k.

What do you like to do in your spare time? Well basically, let’s put it this way, I don’t really like having spare time.  If I were physically able I like diving, flying, spelunking but since the medical issues I’ve begun enjoying different things like cooking, gardening, reading and working on the computer. I volunteer quite a bit.

James’ BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). That would be to finish my PhD in Physics.

We give a runner’s salute to James for jumping in whenever anyone needs help. He is a most capable, helpful and contributing team member and our team would simply not be the same without him!

BoMF FundRacers and Members ready to take on the 2012 Boston Marathon

April 16, 2012 dawned unseasonably hot in Hopkinton for BoMF Boston resident members Brian, Wahid, Austin, Jared and 27,000 other fellow runners as they huddled in the Athlete’s Village looking for shade before stepping onto the searing 26.2 mile asphalt griddle that would serve them up in the 116th edition of the Boston Marathon. Hopefully they would all do well and not be well done in the heat. Extreme weather warnings came a few days earlier with dire predictions of temperatures spiking into the 90s with generous dollops of brilliant sunshine to boot.

Some of the BoMF crew ready to board the bus to Hopkinton. Photo by Paul Bishop

“Could be hotter than the infamous ‘run for the hoses’ Boston Marathon of 1976″, said some Nostradamus and Chicken Little wannbes. Not exactly ideal race conditions for the many who trained for Boston in winter conditions or for those fortunate enough to train in warmer climates for that matter.

But if one makes a commitment to run Boston one knows well in advance that the world’s most storied marathon comes with a huge caveat: local weather in April can be cold, wet, windy and nasty. Or it can be hot, humid and nasty with no breeze at all, or it can be anything in between or all of the above. And possibly all in the same day. So one has to be prepared yet flexible to be successful in Boston. In that regard, preparing for the Boston Marathon is not unlike preparing for life itself: setting goals, doing the hard work in training and being ready to adjust the game plan accordingly when things get beyond one’s control.

Expect the unexpected. BoMF Boston’s team did all of that and then some heading into the race. As they all gathered for a final team photo just before heading to their starting corrals, the smiles were broad and confidence was brimming with heartfelt bravado. Heat? What heat? But to quote an anonymous joking wisegal in the group (with the initials MG), “Why does this remind me of one of those photos of folks smiling at Mt. Everest’s base camp just before … ?”

But nothing would deter Brian, Wahid, Austin or Jared that day from their dreams of completing their first marathon, not after the challenges they’ve faced in their own lives and all that they’ve gone through during the arduous months of training prior to the race. Each one went through undulations of uncertainty wondering if things like that strange ankle, hamstring or calf twinge was really just a tweak or harbinger something more ominous. Or some secretly wondered if they really had the right stuff to handle the rigors of 17 and 21 mile long runs because after all when fantasy collides headlong with reality sometimes the results aren’t pretty.

Marathon training is challenging enough for any runner but for someone who is working hard to get back on their feet, for whatever reason, the challenges can sometimes seem daunting and insurmountable. But again, Brian, Wahid, Austin and Jared had weathered too much personal heat on their own over time to come up short on a race day that freakishly served up an inconvenient truth of some hot weathered heat of its own.

As the medical tents along the course bulged with one running casualty after another, the crew from BoMF Boston soaked themselves in the garden hoses sprinkled throughout the course. They barreled through the retro-Beatlesque shrieks of Wellesley College co-eds, and past the well oiled and well intentioned yahoos that noisily dot and litter the course from BC right through to Kenmore Square, to the right on Hereford, to the left on Boylston and to the finish line in Copley Square. Brian, Wahid, Austin and Jared not only soaked themselves in hoses, but they soaked themselves in glory and accomplished something that will last them a lifetime.

Our admiration, pride and respect for them for what they did, especially in those conditions, is off the charts. They have all earned our heartfelt congratulations. We are grateful for their teammates and BoMF Boston staff who supported them throughout the long training season and on race day itself. Because of those efforts, the 2012 Boston Marathon was truly a major highlight in the two year history of BoMF Boston.

Austin Baker and Meg Goughan, BoMF Program Director, as they crossed the finish line. Photo by Paul Bishop

A big thanks to EMCEE Andi Hauser!

First and foremost- thank you so much to all of the incredible sponsors who made this day possible- and a special thanks to the Bruce and Beth White Family Foundation for their generous contribution of $65,000 to the Indianapolis chapter on this exciting day.

Since 2010, White Lodging has been a huge supporter of BoMF and last March, they helped kick off the launch of the Indianapolis Chapter. Once again, they stepped up and brought in an array of supporters to get involved and sponsor the Birthday Luncheon. We have been incredibly fortunate to have such a strong, committed partner in White Lodging.

Thank you to our Birthday Luncheon honoree Dave Sibley, President and CEO of Hospitality Management at White Lodging, Scott Blalock, General Manager, JW Marriott and Phil Ray, General Manager, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown for advocating for BoMF, sharing our story with partner companies and rallying for support.

Highlights of the day included:

• President and Founder, Anne Mahlum sharing her story with our supporters
• Honoring Dave Sibley, President and CEO of Hospitality Management at White Lodging
• Honoring Non-Residential Members of the Year, Tom and Deb Gardner
• Honoring Residential Members of the Year Ron Gephart and James Boyd
• Sharing the day with our supporters in the Indianapolis community

THANK YOU to all of the Sponsors for the 2012 Indianapolis Birthday Luncheon, we were able to raise over $190,000 through this event!

Marathon Title sponsor:

Half marathon Presenting Sponsors:

10-Mile Sponsors:

Markey’s Rental and Staging, Simon Property Group, Wilds Restoration

5-Mile Sponsors:

Brickman Group, Colts NFL, Devine Group, Faegre Baker & Daniels, Gilchrist and Soames, Greater Indianapolis Hotel and Lodging Association, Harry and Izzy’s, Indianapolis Downtown Inc, KPM Hotel Group, NCAA, Piazza Produce, St. Elmo’s Steakhouse,  St Vincent Health, REI Investments, Inc, United Water

Supported By:

AT&T, Cintas, Cogent Media Group, ExactTarget, HH Gregg, Indianapolis Indians, Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, Towne Park, USA Track & Field, WishTV, GreenSky Media, Harding Poorman Group, Chrissy Vasquez, Steve and Debbie Vasquez, Tom and Deb Gardner, Emilee Britt, Dave Jose, Tom Thompson, Joe Langebartels, Leona Frank, Team Progress House, Teams HVAF of Indiana Manchester and Warman.

Thank you to all of the Silent Auction Donors and Bidders!

Non-Residential Members of the Year Tom and Deb Gardner!

Residential Member of the Year Ron Gephart!

Residential Member of the Year James Boyd!

We are excited for what is in store for this coming year and can’t wait to share stories of success with everyone! Thank you all for your support!

BOSTON — PHIL HAILER – In so many ways conditions were perfectly imperfect for BoMF Boston’s five teams to gather last week for its second birthday run on the Boston Common. The results spoke for themselves. It looked like it was going to rain, but it didn’t. From the outside looking in, it might have even seemed like a well organized event, but it wasn’t. No one from the BoMF brain- trust had a clue as to how many people would show up to this 5:45 a.m. extravaganza. But show up they did. By the dozens, in fact. Resident and non-resident members and team leaders alike from all five squads came by subway, by bus, by car, by bike, and by foot. The only thing missing was a horse, and there was probably one around there somewhere too.

Some even waited for the event at the wrong street corner a block away. It was a true perfectly imperfect BoMF Boston moment when those folks loudly grumbled, groused, and squawked their way up to the corner of Tremont and Park Streets where they promptly threw Vic (a.k.a, Mr. Teflon) right under the bus. And yet like all things BoMF related, and true professional that he is (whereas he has seen many a bus undercarriage), Vic kept smiling and it somehow all worked out in the end.

Of course, it didn’t hurt to have a special guest add some serious cachet and inspiration to the morning’s festivities. All time running great Dick Hoyt graced the crowd with his presence and words of encouragement. His legendary exploits as the leader of Team Hoyt running with his physically challenged son Rick for more than three decades in more than 1,000 races, including 30 Boston Marathons and a host of triathlons (six of which being Ironman challenges) is the stuff of sports legend lore that few can understand but all can admire and appreciate.

With Team Hoyt’s slogan: Yes You Can!, there is a message there for everyone. BoMF Boston was truly blessed to hear from this sports icon at the birthday run and can’t wait to hear more from him when he speaks at BoMF’s birthday breakfast on June 11 . (If you’re a Res or Non Rest and haven’t RSVPed yet, be sure to do so to bridget@backonmyfeet.org by June 1!)

After Hoyt spoke, it was time to go for a group run, but once again it was another perfectly imperfect BoMF Boston moment when the realization struck that no one had planned a route for the 50 or so in attendance. So it was left to the one with the biggest mouth to shout out: ” Go down Tremont, turn right on Boylston, turn right on Dartmouth, turn right on Comm. Ave, run through the park and get back here.” Someone said, “What was that again?” The response? “Right on Hereford, left on Boylston. Just kidding. Shut up and follow the guy in front of you.”

Despite the ad hoc course, no one got lost because return they all did. In fact, they returned to a perfectly imperfect runner’s breakfast of coffee and donuts courtesy of a little (very little) TLC from Chez Donuts du Dunkin’ across the street. And even that establishment has an improbable place in BoMF Boston’s rich and colorful two year history.

A few weeks earlier while holding a pre-dawn non-res orientation in there, someone from BoMF had to suddenly give noisy chase to a would be thief out the door and down an alley to (successfully) recover an iPhone stolen from an unwitting customer there. Mission accomplished in a perfectly imperfect BoMF way.

As the morning celebration wound down and before everyone tore into the coffee and donuts, and rummaged through some surplus running clothes donations, another perfectly imperfect BoMF moment occurred. It was time to circle up and Grandmaster Vic was ready to lead the closing Serenity prayer. Now, we have been known in the past to be joined in the circle by not only BoMFers, but sometimes by ducks, pigeons, buskers and assorted disheveled passersby who loiter on that particular corner of Boston Common. That morning though, as Vic started the prayer, a poor, ragged and clearly disturbed woman chomping on a cigarillo crashed through to the center of the circle and stood in the middle and started ranting quite loudly and incoherently about David and King Solomon. Vic calmly gave her the floor for a few seconds and then said loudly, “Who brought us here today?”

We then adjourned to the refreshments and offered our friend and some other folks hanging around the corner some food and surplus clothes. That quieted things down a bit making it a perfectly imperfect ending to a perfectly wonderful morning.

Tiffany Brennaman

You’ve probably seen her out and about. Chances are you ran right next to her! Tiffany, a homegrown southern peach, grew up in Macon, GA. She attended Georgia Southern for her undergraduate degree and went to UGA for her graduate work.

Tiffany with her dad

A storybook romance, Tiffany married her high school sweetheart and is celebrating her 10 year anniversary THIS month! Congratulations Tiffany! Wow, how time flies. Never one to stand still, she enjoys sky-diving, experimental cooking, cardboard box snowboarding, blogging, and Korean karaoke. The next time you see her make sure to ask her to sing a song for you!

Tiffany and her husband, Chris.

We asked Tiffany to share a bit more information with us, so check it out below!

What brought you to BoMF?  I am a social worker AND a runner, so naturally this job is perfect for me. I am completely in love with BoMF – the mission, the people, and the impact we have on society. I believe that combining running with a community that seeks to challenge folks’ perceptions of homelessness is a beautiful formula that can and does have a massive impact!

Why do you love running? It pushes me in ways I never could have imagined. …and I can wear skinny jeans. J

Do you have a bucket list race? I don’t have one. I just like to run fast, short races and the occasional half. I love the Peachtree Road Race. I guess if they ever have a race on the moon, I’d like to give it a shot!

What is your favorite part of the morning group runs? The hugs, the Serenity Prayer – it’s all INCREDIBLY powerful.

Fave running accessory? Don’t really have one – I’m a minimalist runner, so for me, less is more.

What is something about you that most people don’t know? My dream is to own an African Pygmy Goat and a teacup pig.  I have a weird obsession with unicorns that started as a joke but has evolved into something real.

Other fun facts about Tiffany: I love acting. I do radio drama with my husband and our friends. I have also wanted to join the circus since I was a little girl and still dream of being a trapeze artist.

Make sure to stay tuned for our next celebrity showcase! Any guesses as to who it will be?