Group gets homeless on feet and running

From the USA Today online and coming into Atlanta hopefully by 2012…

Group gets homeless on feet and running

By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Torrey Brockman is glad to be running for himself instead of running from the police.

An alcoholic and drug addict, Brockman, 35, checked into a drug rehabilitation center and found Back on My Feet, a running group for the homeless.

For four months, he has been up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:45 a.m. to run with 15 other men on the streets of downtown D.C., past the Washington Monument, the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court.

"It's different being on this side because running from police, that first mile wasn't anything," he says, laughing. "It's after you do that first mile, that's the hard part, trying to get your wind back. But now that I'm doing 2, 3 miles, it's getting better."

Back on My Feet is a support group for the homeless, many of them on drugs and alcohol, that is meant to help them get their lives in order by instilling discipline and improving their health and self-esteem.

The program, which began in Philadelphia, is going national. It started groups in shelters and transitional housing in Baltimore last year and Washington and Boston this year. It plans to be in Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and Minneapolis before 2012.

The program began three years ago when marathoner Anne Mahlum regularly ran past a homeless shelter in Philadelphia and began talking to the guys hanging out in the front.

"I enjoyed talking to them," Mahlum says. Their sarcasm and wit reminded her of her father, who struggled with alcohol, drug and gambling addictions.

She decided to invite the guys to run with her and called the shelter about starting a group. It started with nine runners. Today, Back on My Feet has about 600 participants.

Mahlum says that as members complete a run, they feel a sense of accomplishment. Success is rewarded. Members run with volunteers and a coach, who charts their increasing mileage and awards prizes such as running clothes, medals and watches. That boosts their self-esteem even more, Mahlum says.

"The organization uses running to help people to succeed," she says.

Read on here.