The Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission shelters homeless men who have committed themselves to sobering up (if they have a drug or drinking problem), finding a job and acquiring housing. For Mahlum, running is her "best friend," an activity that motivates her, she says. "Running always gives me that same feeling that nothing else ever could." It's what made her think she could help these men by getting them to run with her.

Though most of my focus these days is on jazz and experimental music, I grew up on rock. From a childhood spent digging through Dad's crates of vinyl to the long-haired high school jean-jacket days, nostalgia points back not to bebop and swing, but to Headbangers Ball and all-ages Battles of the Bands in suburban Wilmington, Del.