In spring 2007, Anne Mahlum was running past the same homeless shelter in Philadelphia at the crack of dawn every day.
As a friendly woman from North Dakota, Mahlum, 29, just started to kind of wave at everyone, she said.
The men on the corner at first looked at her like she was crazy. But then the exchanges began to soften.
“They would say, ‘are you ever going to stop running?'” Mahlum said. “I’d say, ‘are you guys ever going to start?'”
But then Mahlum, who has been running since she was 16, realized that she was “cheating” them by not sharing “the gift of running” with them.
So in July 2007, she founded Back on My Feet, a nonprofit organization that helps the homeless population of Philadelphia, now Baltimore and, soon, Washington, become self-sufficient through the power of running.
“Running can be solitary,” she said. “It’s so primitive — it didn’t get created by man.”
Mahlum also emphasized the egalitarian nature of the “runner’s high.”
“Running gives you that high whether black, white, rich, poor,” she said. “People are people in my mind.”
The program has made a difference in the lives of the people of Philadelphia and Baltimore.
It runs three days a week, with the morning runs starting between 5:30 and 6 a.m. Potential members sign a dedication contract and a sheet of goals for the program, as well as an individual survey that serves as the basis of monthly evaluations.
After two months, members with 90 percent attendance or better become eligible for assistance, such as job training programs, scholarships and housing help. But, Mahlum emphasizes, the goal is to set members up for success — not to push them into anything they’re not ready for.
“It’s a kind of solitary sport, but we’ve made it very social,” she said. “At 5:30 a.m., you’re either sleeping or doing something else. We choose to run.”
As a nonprofit, Back on My Feet relies heavily on donations and partnerships. According to its Web site, it is about two-thirds of the way to its goal of $1 million. It also partners with major companies like Bank of America, Nike and Whole Foods.
She was named one of CNN’s “Heroes of the Year” in 2008 for her work with the program. Reminiscent of her early morning exchanges with the homeless in her Philadelphia neighborhood, she led off her acceptance speech with a bit of humor.
“You know, I can run a marathon and my feet don’t hurt,” she said at the Hollywood ceremony. “But these heels are killing me.”
Mahlum is set to move to Washington in February, with the program scheduled to start in the area in March.
She already has ties to the area — she attended graduate school at American University. And five “Back on My Feet” members ran in the 10K portion of the Marine Corps Marathon in October. Mahlum herself ran in the marathon in 2004, finishing in just over four hours.
She said she eventually wants to expand the program nationally.
“That’s definitely the plan — we’re planning to launch in Boston in May,” she said.
But not before building up a chapter in the nation’s capital.
“Everybody goes to D.C. to change the world.”
