For some students, running is not just a way to burn stress or calories, but also a means to foster lasting relationships with those that they may often run past — the homeless.

Since last spring, the Georgetown Running Club has been partnering with Back on My Feet, a national running program focused on helping the homeless find a path back to healthy living.

The D.C. chapter of Back on My Feet, which uses running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem, organizes teams of volunteers and homeless men that run three mornings a week.

The Running Club participates in the exercise once a month, gathering at 5:30 a.m. to meet the regular runners at Clean & Sober Streets, a residential drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation center. The group huddles in prayer, warms up, stretches out and engages in group reflection before the morning run.

During the run almost everyone is silent, which quickly changes once the group crosses the finish line, according to GRC Vice President Tim Dougherty (COL ’13).

“It’s all smiles and high-fives,” he said. “Everyone’s on the same playing field, and you’re just going for a run.”

Three students, Pat Fogerty (SFS ’14) and sisters Katie (COL ’14) and Maggie Ferrato (COL ’14), run with the program nearly every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

“[T]he runners at BoMF have been unbelievably motivating and have inspired me to sign up for my first marathon, the National Marathon in March,” Katie Ferrato said. “I will be running in support of Back on My Feet D.C.”

All three are training for the National Marathon in D.C. and are motivated for the early morning runs by the friendships that they have formed with the program participants.

“You would think that waking up at 4:45 [a.m.] would get easier as time went on, but every morning I still wake up and feel miserable and exhausted,” Fogerty said. “However, knowing that there are people standing out in the cold expecting us to be there is usually enough to get us out of bed.”

Building a sense of community for people experiencing homelessness is one of the main missions of Back on My Feet.

“Our team has become really close; we always have each others’ backs,” Margaret Ferrato said.