DC Capital Striders hands water to Mayor Fenty
Running into Reese Witherspoon at the Mall
Running and Swimming in Lake Zurich
Running during the Smithsonian Folklife Fest - Wales
Running on Independence Day
Ropes Course at Homestead, VA
Rapping with Danny Cahill
Food Poisoining at Fiesta DC

Tammy and Imelda

Tammy's warm up for Ultra; Imelda's First
Tammy and Imelda

Angel Triplets from NY State

Disney World Marathon 2010
Disney World Marathon Inspirations

Fallon Running for Fallen Marine

In Honor of Cpl Chris Scherer
CPL Chris Scherer

The 5:30 PACE SETTERS

Pirates of the Caribbean
CPL Chris Scherer

Road to Recovery

One Year after Open Heart Surgery
CPL Chris Scherer

National Marathon and Half 2010

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Runin MCM 2009

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Back on My Feet, the non-profit organization that uses running as a vehicle to promote the sufficiency of Philadelphia and Baltimore's homeless population has a lot of commonalities with RUNIN, this social media site.

Reflecting on Relationships

Reflection starts with oneself but does not stop there—it is looking at the surface as well as probing deeper beyond. It is about understanding your abilities and capabilities as well as being open about your mistakes and your shortcomings. When looking inward during theprocess of reflection, the point is to figure out where one stands in relation to the world. In order for these lessons to be valuable, we must consider those around us, and we should be open to share as well as learn from others.

Reflecting on Relationships is about seeing the interconnectedness of many things. This principle is about realizing that many things in life are truly connected-- the situations, events, and decisions of today be synched and in balance and this health-work-life continuum has a direct impact on our future. Reflection can also mean spirituality -- your daily quest to prepare your mind and body for inspiration and enlightenment. As you observe your reflection, other images will emerge—those of the lives around you.

Personally, I am a lumper and not a clumper. To lump is to put things in individual boxes, compartmentalize and then relegate core elements in life to labels and stereotypes. In contrast, to clump is to remove walls, to appreciate the value of "one village" and to change the integrity of the things that are being brought together.

Understanding and Uniting

Another important value is to understand the world and the community around you. First we should try to understand others before trying to be understood. When visiting a tenant, it is important to not just collect rent or to check on the property, but to get to know them and learn about their community through the stories they have to tell. We listen, we understand, we learn, we UNITE.

Negotiating and Number Checking

In life, whatever hand you’re dealt is the hand that you have to play. However don't just submit it's worth to face value -- find it's true value and then negotiate it with other players. Before acting you should weigh every option. It makes it more difficult but in return, you get more out of life. I don’t like hearing people say we should do something a certain way because it has always been that way. In Runin’s approach, there are no set ways to approach a problem all the time – one size does not fit all, and life is too important to not try on another suit.

A decision should be made through negotiation but the numbers also need to be checked, refined and considered. Numbers is not just for balance sheets. It also connotes time, number of calories expended, distance to travel, etc.

If your numbers are not balanced, then your plans may fall into rocks.

Inspiring to Innovate

Innovation is not just about machines, technology and hardware. It is about people, ideas and software. Innovation is about sharing and tapping into people’s ideas -- a process we know today as Social Media. If people are using the internet in the same way that they were a few years ago, then they are behind the power curve. Web 2.0 means that the internet as an efficiency tool has drastically improved and we are just in the early stages. Social media is about leveraging people’s ideasand sharing it freely and instantaneously across the world.

Navigating

Onboard a ship, When you’re navigating, you are taking regular fixes to try and determine where you are. In life, people are not on a fixed course. Part of navigating is being OK with changing your course even if it means turning 180 degrees. There are times when you will realize that you are going in the wrong direction; it is OK to turn around as long as you don’t run aground and incur any permanent, significant damages.


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Runin with Monica Mile 4

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A Sister Runs to Remember

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Growing up in Lubbock, Texas, Monica Velez looked out for her two brothers, Jose and Andrew.

Acting as a surrogate Mom, the three siblings ran with their Dad who ran almost daily around their rural community in Lubbock, Texas. Running was their passion and what bound the four together.


In Nov 2004, Cpl Jose "Freddy" Velez was killed by a sniper's bullet in Fallujah. His brother Spc. Andrew Velez who was serving in southern Iraq, identified Freddy's body and accompanied him home..

After Andrew arrived in Afghanistan in 2006, he killed himself with a machine gun.

In a period of 18 months, Monica had lost her two brothers who she had loved and admired so much.

There's never a difficult or challenging time that she doesn't think of them. And today during the Marathon, she will remember and appreciate their sacrifices they made for their country.

Monica wants to raise awareness on the plight of those who have lost a sibling, what some call "disenfranchised grief."

Thanks to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), Monica has been able to not only get counseling from the VA, but has also been able to go online to reach out and share with TAPS's large network of siblings.

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Runin Back on My Feet

8:40 PM Reporter: RuninDC 0 Responses
I had the pleasure to meet Anne Mahlum, Lauren Williams, Autumn Campbell and the wonderful staff during the Back on My Feet inaugural social at the Union Pub on Thursday.

During the run, I had the fortune of running into Maria de la Torre and Rick Amernick of DC Capital Striders. They spoke to me about the great features of this inspirational and purposeful program. Back on My Feet encourages everyone to run together and accomplish their goals, regardless of their race, education or socioeconomic status.

Back on My Feet gives the homeless a
second chance to regain control of their lives. The program's mission also exemplifies several of Runin DC's core values. The first of these is "reflecting on relationships" or seeing how we are all connected. Back on My Feet is not a handout; it is about partnerships and seeing ourselves in others. While running and training, the homeless and the trainers support and challenge each other to strive higher.

Back on My Feet is also about
"understanding" or empathizing with people--no matter how different they may appear at first glance.

The neat thing about running is that it is a great equalizer. When we're running hard up a hill, it doesn't matter what socioeconomic status you come from. You are working extremely hard -- rich, middle class, or poor -- all of us have to climb the same hill.

The next value is "negotiation," which is exemplified by Back on My Feet's emphasis on goal setting. Participants of the program--both trainers and homeless runners--make a commitment to themselves and each other. This is an especially meaningful decision for the runners, who examine their current lot in life and ultimately know that they can do better.

Their response is to commit to running a few miles each day as early as 6am. The "innovation" value is illustrated in the uniqueness of the idea itself. Back on My Feet shows that love for humankind and strength of spirit has endless applications.

Finally, RUNIN is about "Navigation." Likewise Back on My Feet will help the homeless strive to finish the run, train for the next race and aspire to get back on their feet and become both customers and contributors to this great social running continuum.

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Marine Corps Marathon Crystal City Run

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Runin to Help the Homeless

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