About a dozen elementary- and middle-school-aged girls participate in the Faith in Motion run club on Saturday mornings in Aledo in support of their friends, Delaila and Thylane Lamy. Delaila started the club in honor of her father, Gaylord Lamy, who passed away in March.
Ella Gonzales
egonzales@star-telegram.com
A shroud of mini-Hokas, matching T-shirts and customized headbands scuttled around Aledo in late August on a Saturday morning.
This run club, named “Faith in Motion,” was founded by 11-year-old Delaila Lamy, in honor of her father, Gaylord Lamy, the former general manager for Bowie House who passed away at 46 years old in March. A few months before Gaylord’s passing, Delaila and her dad started running as a way to train for soccer.
“I asked her, ‘What would help you [with your grief]?’” Delaila’s mom Ashley Lamy told the Star-Telegram. “She was like, ‘Maybe I can start a running club with my friends.’ And when she gets an idea, she needs to start it right away.”
11-year-old Delaila Lamy with the Faith in Motion T-shirts and custom headbands she made for her participating friends. Courtesy photo by Ashley Lamy
So, Delaila thought of what to call her club, designed a logo, picked out a Bible verse and got going on making T-shirts. She also customized blue headbands with each girl’s name.
“She got so excited, I saw her light up about it,” said Ashley. “And so I could tell it was something she could put her energy and her pain and her hurt into, and know that she’s doing it for him.”
A dozen elementary and middle school girls gathered in Aledo on Aug. 29, 2026 to participate in 11-year-old Delaila Lamy’s Faith in Motion run club which was made in honor of her late father, Gaylord Lamy, general manager of the Bowie House. Ella Gonzales egonzales@star-telegram.com
At least a dozen of Delaila’s friends from McAnally Middle School and a few of her 7-year-old sister Thylane’s friends from Walsh Elementary, gathered on their weekends to run and pray.
Delaila set up snacks, a water cooler and devotionals. She led stretches before they embarked on their mile loop.
11-year-old Delaila Lamy (middle) leads her friends in stretches on Aug. 29, 2026 in Aledo for her Saturday morning Faith in Motion run club she started in honor of her father. Ella Gonzales egonzales@star-telegram.com
“The first time they went for a run, this guy posted to the Walsh Facebook group a picture of the girls, and said, ‘Whoever is leading these girls, that is so great that they’re out there running as a team,’” Ashley said. “I just think it’s a really beautiful thing to physically see, all them coming together to surround the girls and support them.”
Aledo High School students, Haddi and Mac Richardson, mentor the younger girls through stretches, the mile long run and a devotional at Faith in Motion run club on Aug. 29, 2026 in Aledo. Ella Gonzales egonzales@star-telegram.com
The feedback made Delaila excited and sparked more ideas for her to eventually raise money through Faith in Motion. She told the Star-Telegram that the run club is something she looks forward to every week. She loves talking with her friends while they run, and enjoys snacking together while reading through a Bible study.
“It’s just been really special to see her put herself into that, and then see all her friends and the parents here rally around and support her and Thylane through it,” said Ashley.
Delaila Lamy leads her junior high friends through a post-run devotional at her Faith in Motion run club on Aug. 29, 2026 in Aledo. Ella Gonzales egonzales@star-telegram.com Gaylord Lamy
Gaylord was the first manager at Bowie House hotel when it opened in Fort Worth in 2023. Under his leadership, the hotel was recognized for multiple national awards and is one of three Texas hotels with two Michelin keys (a Michelin key is the hotel equivalent to a Michelin star for a restaurant).
Being from France, he started in hospitality at five-star hotels in Paris before moving to the states to work in Boston, where he met Ashley. The two then moved to Hong Kong to work in hospitality there. They lived in Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia and Chicago before moving to Texas.
Ashley said Gaylord was the best dad, who loved his girls dearly. Running with Delaila was the highlight of his mornings. He was also an avid runner who ran weekly with his church. Now, Delaila is carrying out that same tradition.
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Ella Gonzales is a service journalism reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions and write about life in North Texas. Ella mainly writes about local restaurants and where to find good deals around town.