Category Archives: BMR Blog

Lawrence Harrington – Captain for the Black Men Run Philadelphia chapter.

Allow me to introduce you to Lawrence Harrington, Captain for the Philadelphia chapter of Black Men Run. Additionally, Lawrence is also a member of Black Runners Connection and a proud active member of The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Inc. He is also a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan.

Lawrence, what is your fitness background and what brought you to Black Men Run?

Believe it or not, I hated running. I did play basketball. It was my kids’ mother who got me into running. When she returned from military training, I started joining her on her workouts which included running. I started distance running in 2016. I would see BMR all the time on social media. I asked one of my frat brothers about the organization. I reached out to one of my fraternity brothers and asked him about the organization. Then in 2018 I met a member volunteering at a race expo. He invited me out to a group run. I learned so much from that one run and it made me want to continue coming back for the group runs. So, my very first run with BMR was Jan 1. 2019.

Lawrence has been serving as Philadelphia’s captain since 2020. He says, ‘I’m Still learning.’ The biggest challenge being captain has been keeping members consistent; some come out and then disappear. Encouraging the guys to continue to come out.  We average about 10-15 guys for our group runs. Of course, race day we have more guys show up.  We are out there in 7 degrees; we are out there in the snow.

Tell me about these Hood-2-Hood running events.

We recently joined up with another group, SwaggaHouse Run Club and started doing these Hood-2-Hood runs. This takes place during the summer months. We run through the neighborhoods, speak to kids about gun violence. We also hit up different businesses along the route. We try to show the kids, especially, something different. Its dangerous out here.  So, every 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of the month, we run through several different neighborhoods. NBC 10 Philly News has covered our story and cause before, and others have reached out wanting to know how to be part of this movement. The kids love it, they join us and chant “DON’T SHOOT, SAVE THE YOUTH” – a popular chant you will hear from our people. We’ve had over 30 people show up for this from BMR, SwaggaHouse and others supporting.

*SPECIAL SHOUTOUT TO BROTHER CHRIS FITZGERALD* SwaggaHouse member, police officer and beloved BMR friend who recently lost his life to gun violence. R.I.P., brother*

What other events is the Philly chapter involved in?

We do an Annual MLK Service Project [January]. We collect clothes and shoes; we had over 125 pairs of sneakers donated to the homeless. My daughter and I also like to provide sandwiches and another group too. We appreciate being blessed to help serve our community.

Philly is a ‘running’ city. The Broad Street Run [first Sunday in May] is a 10 miler and the entire chapter participates in that – 20-30 brothers.  It’s different from most of our races because you are running through the neighborhoods, people are out cheering you on and giving you love and encouragement for the entire 10 miles. That’s one of the biggest races for us every year.   It is a lottery to get in but mostly everyone gets in.  It’s usually capped at 40K runners. At the end of the year, its marathon.

For Juneteenth, we do a big run through the city, highlighting some of the national historical landmarks. Afterwards we fellowship, grill out. It’s also Father’s Day.  We do 2 group runs each week. We are about to do a monthly Monday event for runners who don’t feel like they can keep up with us. This will be for beginners to get acclimated with where the group is. We literally run as a group. If we’re going 5 miles out, we may have a few stops, but we all stay together. When we say ‘No Man Left Behind’ we are all together. For a lot of chapters, it may be hard to do it this way. But this is really a fellowship and an opportunity to build the brotherhood on the local level. It’s a great time. We just have a party out there to make sure everyone feels included. We use our individual runs for training, but the group runs really is a group event.

Have you seen yourself grow as a captain?

Definitely! I tweaked a lot of things from when I first became captain up until now. I learned a lot from the previous captain. Prime example, I have changed our schedule which has allowed more members to participate. Initially I was doing a lot more.  So now I’ve learned to not take on so much and I allow the vice-caps to do more. They’ve been holding it down big time. Delegating and time-management has helped to make a change, as well as the input from the chapter. The entire chapter has been a blessing in this aspect.

I think for the people in our Facebook group is close to 300 but we get nowhere near that in group run participation. But the active members have started posting more. So, we look at the actual members who show up: that’s the real Philadelphia chapter.

September 2023 is Philly’s 10^th anniversary so we will be celebrating: a 5k run, a BBQ, fellowship.  And of course, we will be in Atlanta for the BMR 10^th Anniversary. Detroit was amazing and that’s got everyone hyped to get down to the ATL. We can talk about Detroit all day, but you really had to be there to get the full experience.

Me being in a fraternity, I see BMR taking it even further. We spend time with each other, we get to know each other, spend birthdays together. We do a lot from the brotherhood aspect. We really enjoy us.

Article by National Vice-Captain and

Director of Communications, James ‘JT’ Hale.

I first met Darnell Turner, and his son Isaiah, up in Maryland for the Across the Bay 10K over the Bay Bridge [Md]. Darnell is a Philadelphia native and former member of the BMR chapter in Philly. He is now based all the way across the country in Oakland California, i.e., OAKTOWN. Darnell is also the Vice-Captain for the Bay Area BMR chapter and his son, Isaiah is also an active brother in the chapter.

Darnell, how did you get started running and what brought you to Black Men Run?

 When I was on vacation in Florida, 8 years ago.  I just went out and ran. I thought, “this isn’t bad.” Prior to that, I had not ran since 1983 for the military. I was not an athlete and I didn’t have a history of running.  I said “let me see if I can stick with it.” Then I was in my car listening to NPR. I heard an interview with BMR Philadelphia; Michael Stinson was being interviewed. I connected  with the Philadelphia chapter via facebook.  And I did my first run with them November 2015 for a race.  My man Isaiah [Darnell’s son] came out with me and he has been my running partner ever since. Its something for us to do together. Wherever we go with BMR, he feels very accepted and comfortable. He loves running with the brotherhood.”

How long were you in the Philadelphia chapter before moving and joining the Bay Area chapter? Any major differences between the two?

We moved out here to California in 2018. For 10 months, I was travelling back and forth between Philly and the Bay area but I didn’t get to run with them until the move was final.

On the east coast, its not the chapter that’s really different, it’s the environment and culture that I find different.  Its more engaging, its more dense on. Close to DC, South and North Jersey. Everyone is in a couple of hours from each other.

Here on the west Coast, the weather is so much nicer and there are other options of activities and it is geographically spread out. In the Bay Area chapter, we are really spread out. Oakland is the meetup spot. You have to cross the Bay Bridge to get to San Francisco. South Bay is a good hour away which includes  San Jose. Santa Clara.  We go where the members are.  So we do try to accommodate everyone as much as we can and keep the brothers engaged by hitting various areas. The group runs are:  the 1^st Saturday is at the lake;  the 3^rd Saturday is different locations. We are also connecting with Fleet Feet to do joint runs and we are re-establishing some mid-week runs.  We have also been engaging with the Golden Gate Triathalon Club [San Francisco].

So, Darnell, what keeps you running, motivated?

Watching other brothers running motivates me. I roll out of bed and look at the brothers posting their runs. That positive group peer pressure pushes me.  8 years in, its challenging myself.  Asking myself, can I continue setting PRs? Potentially getting a new PR and what can I do to fight off Father Time…staying healthy, maintaining good bloodwork numbers. When I hear guys say that they don’t need their meds anymore, I get excited about that.  The Bay Area chapter doesn’t have huge numbers but we do have a good solid core that stays connected, sharing exercise techniques, diets and we also text back and forth in our group chat all kinds of information.

How long have you been Vice-Captain for the Bay Area chapter?

I had not been out here long when Captain Kyrah and his wife started their own business and he had to step away to focus on that. Even before landing in Oakland, I was active on the Bay Area facebook page. Kyrah asked me a few times about being Vice-Captain. Oyanga asked me a few times and I finally agreed to help out. I was already doing a lot of the Vice-Captain thing ‘unofficially’.

I don’t feel a big difference being Vice-Captain as I still do the same things I was already doing.  I would say I’m a little more accountable making it to the runs.  Planning and coordinating runs, events has been really cool. We’re having fun, getting healthy. We just completed our last official group run. We gave out awards and swag to the guys. I invited a coworker to come out to the run and he was just blown away at what he saw.

We also have some certified coaches in our group. So we are able to address individual needs of our guys from injuries to training techniques, various apps to use and other information.

Do you have a favorite running location?

I like San Francisco but I love the Oakland neighborhoods, the proximity to where I am, their history, the murals. I also like The Lake Merritt area which is very scenic.  The waterfront overlooking San Francisco from the Alameida side is beutiful. The views are limitless and fantastic.  Just like any city, you have areas where you need to be careful but they have a lot of great things going on in Oakland, like First Fridays, the Oakland Running Festival. There is just so much culturally to experience.  The views are so nice wherever you go out here.

What do you say to a new runner who comes out to a or a guy sees you in a store with your BMR gear on and they ask you about BMR? IF they say ‘I’m not really a runner like that” – what do you say to encourage them to come out?

The one thing that we remind the guys is ‘NO MAN LEFT BEHIND!!!’ There is always someone running at your pace. We can also walk and do intervals. We adjust appropriately to make new guys feel comfortable and if that means slowing it down, that’s what we do.  I remember when I started out, I didn’t even know what a 5k was and a mile was a big hurdle.

HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THE PANDEMIC?

It was good for me. Instead of binge-watching tv, I was binge-running and binge-biking.   I dropped a lot of weight. I got in a good frame of mine during Covid 2020. Watching the page and seeing what other brothers were doing, helped to keep me going.  

DO YOU HAVE ANY  GOALS FOR 2023

Just maintaining, that’s the key. This was a rough year. I had to travel a lot during the summer for family, mom passed away, some things slowed me down.  Brother Troy  from the Tampa Chapter posted that ‘November 30-day challenge,’ and that really helped me get to 1,000 miles for the year so I kept going.  I want to continue cross-training as it helps with reducing injuries.   Minimizing injuries is also a goal of mine next year.I also want guys who come out to return for another run and another one and another one. 

Article by National Vice-Captain and

Director of Communications, James ‘JT’ Hale.