Steve Wylie, founder of Runners Feeding Others, which supports a local charitable food program, is shown at right at the Rite-Aid Cleveland Marathon in May along with Mike and Marcia Roach, his sister, of Sagamore Hills. Marcia Roach was Wylie’s inspiration to start running.

Photo courtesy of Steve Wylie

Wylie, a Cuyahoga Falls resident, has started Runners Feeding Others (RFO), a group that encourages runners to obtain sponsorships for races. The money raised then supports the food ministry at First Grace United Church of Christ (UCC) in West Akron.

“It’s just phenomenal,” said the Rev. Bob Dreese, pastor of First Grace, which is located at West Exchange Street and South Portage Path. “Steve is well aware of the ministry we’ve been doing at the church and the increasing numbers of folks that have been coming.”

The church organizes and serves free community meals the last two Saturdays and second and third Thursdays of the month, Dreese said. In addition, last year the church opened the People’s Choice Food Pantry, which is open twice a week and allows people in need to “shop” for staples.

Wylie, who has been a member of the church for six years, said he has volunteered for the food programs.

“You see the people who need help, and they are single mothers with three children,” Wylie said. “There are 5-year-old kids that wouldn’t have anything to eat if it weren’t for these programs. These are real people that for whatever reason they are down on their luck.”

Wylie didn’t become a runner until a little more than a year ago.

“My sister ran in the Cleveland Marathon in 2008, and I had never been to a large organized event like that,” he said. “It was completely overwhelming to me to watch all those people accomplish something like that. I was so proud of my sister, and I decided that it was something I would love to do.”

He ran on a relay team in last year’s Road Runner Akron Marathon and was hooked.

“The support people give regardless of someone’s ability is just amazing to me,” he said.

Wylie signed up to run in the half-marathon in the Rite-Aid Cleveland Marathon earlier this year, and a couple of weeks before the race noticed that many participants were raising money for different causes with their runs.

“I got the idea that all these charities are great and what people are doing is great, but what else is there out there?” he said. “I thought about the food programs at First Grace and always thought it was a tremendous program that the church does.”

So Wylie posted on his Facebook page that he was running to raise money for the food programs at his church. He was surprised at the response.

“In two weeks time, we raised enough money to donate over 2,500 pounds of food for the church’s programs,” he said. “It’s kind of like running — once you get a taste of something like that, it hooks you.”

Wylie said he has several runners signed up to participate in RFO for the upcoming Road Runner Akron Marathon Sept. 26. He added five RFO runners took part in the Buckeye Half Marathon Sept. 13 in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Right now he’s trying to spread the word about his efforts to the running community.

“This is very much a grassroots organization,” he said. “I’ve talked to so many people who love the idea — it’s just about getting it out to more people.”

Dreese, a Copley resident, said the help coming from RFO couldn’t come at a better time.

“We fed over 1,500 people in July,” he said. “Each of our programs has seen a growing number of people. We are seeing the working poor, folks who have jobs and are raising their kids who are trying to do everything right but because of layoffs at work or decreased hours are finding themselves in the position of asking for help.”

Wylie said in addition to trying to get more interest in the effort, he’s hoping to see the RFO idea spread to other communities.

“I wouldn’t be offended by someone saying I dreamed too big,” Wylie said.

He said that RFO has just partnered with a food pantry in Columbus called The Largest Table, which is run by St. John’s Church, a UCC church. The result is that many RFO runners will participate in the Columbus Marathon on Oct. 18.

Runners who are interested in more information or participating can go to www.runnersfeedingothers.com or e-mail Wiley directly at steve@runnersfeedingothers.com.