Outrun Homelessness: Running NYC Half Marathon for Back on My Feet NYC

NYCInspiration

Feb 16

Photos by Marques Jackson/Filles Garcons Photography.

I am running the 2020 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon in support of Back on My Feet NYC. As someone who has experienced the stress and pain of having no place to live in NYC, outrunning homelessness is a cause that is close to my heart.

If you’ve ever been without a place to sleep at night, had no place to put your things, or had to live with your stuff in storage while you bounced around people’s couches or in shelters, you understand how stressful and hard it is to experience homelessness. Back on My Feet is an organization that helps people literally get back on their feet and transition to independent living after homelessness. I am excited that I will be running the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon to benefit Back on My Feet NYC.

Suddenly having no place to live in NYC happened twice, both due to tumultuous relationships crashing down. One resulted in my things being literally thrown out onto the street in the middle of the night in upper Manhattan, and one ended in me being stalked, losing my job, and eeking by in temporary places until I got my life back together.

During this time, I had to put my stuff in storage and live in cheap, far-our Airbnbs at the end of Brooklyn, and crash on friends’ couches, and at the time my computer broke too, making it even harder to get my writing jobs done or secure any work besides dog walking. As stressful as it all was, I was lucky to have family and friends and was making some money to fall back on so I still had a place to sleep. Even so, it was absolutely tiring not to have a reliable place to keep my things and establish a routine for a job. Doing simple things like signing up for a race or committing to train for anything became much more difficult when I didn’t know where I’d be living or if I’d have money and not be working.

New York is a difficult place to live but by connecting with other runners, the city becomes so much better.

Perhaps the worst part about not having a place to live, or being utterly broke or without resources, is the shame you feel. It is very difficult to talk about your frustrations and anger, or about your day to day living situation without getting embarrassed or feeling judged. I would say the mental challenges of these situations were far greater than the physical challenges for me. It is very humbling and if you don’t have anyone to fall back on, can be so hard to bounce back from.

Really we are all under a lot of pressure living in big cities and homelessness can strike more easily than you think. When you live in NYC, it is so expensive and it is normal to move a lot and not own a home due to ludicrous apartment renting requirements (needing to make 40 times the rent, for instance), and things like a job loss, divorce or unforeseen health expenses can all come crashing down and you wind up with no place to live. If you move to NYC from somewhere else, as many of us do, you have no family to fall back on and usually the people you know are just as stressed as you and living in shoeboxes with no extra space. Throw in a bad relationship or an addiction issue, and a precarious situation can go from bad to rock bottom really fast.

And in today’s chaotic world, a little compassion can go a long way and make all the difference In turning someone’s life around. Back on My Feet is a great organization that helps people who are experiencing homelessness and living in shelters take the big strides to start improving their lives, using the discipline of running, accompanied by job and essential skills training, to get jobs and transition to independent living. I’ve had the pleasure to run with and know members from Back on My Feet NYC who have literally ran with the training and second chance from Back on My Feet, and gone on to not only live independently but to thrive in this big crazy city of ours.

And it is my pleasure to run to raise funds for Back on My Feet NYC. I signed up right before the deadline (which is this Wednesday — contact me if you’d like to join the race and fundrace with Team Runstreet!) for the 2020 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon, one of the few big races in NYC I have not run yet. This epic race through NYC will be in one month, on March 15, 2020. I am so excited to run through my favorite Brooklyn and also to be able to run in Times Square when the streets are shut down for all the runners.

If you can contribute to my fundracing campaign or help spread the word on social media, I would so appreciate that! And more importantly, so would the members of Back on My Feet NYC, who are working hard every day to get their lives back on track. Here’s to our compassion, confidence in new beginnings, and faith in the power of running to transform lives.

Thank you so much, and hope to see you at the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon!

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF and RRCA-certified running coach and the creator of Runstreet Art Runs, which bring together communities through running and street art. She is a Brooklyn resident, running coach, Akita mom🐕, and writer. She enjoys running coaching, traveling, art, and eating messily. You can follow her running and events at @Runstreet Instagram and Runstreet Facebook and follow her on Twitter for more on her running adventures.

Resources: Back on My Feet NYC