Every Sunday at 7:30 a.m., people join the BLK Arizona Run Club at Tempe Town Lake seeking fitness and community. (Photo by Natalie Lopez/Cronkite News)
TEMPE – Even with the scorching heat pummeling down on Arizona residents, hundreds of people still come out every Sunday morning to run on Tempe Town Lake because of the sense of community that BLK Arizona Run Club provides.
Every Sunday starts at 7:30 a.m. with a group stretch, with the runners surrounded by Black-owned business vendors. From fresh lemonade to granola bars, attendees are enticed by healthy options before, during and after running along the lake.
Emanuel Jones, a fitness trainer who founded the club in the beginning of June, created it to give opportunities for connections and community, and potentially even more. That includes possible romantic connections.
“We just wanted to create a space for people of color to just come find a community and be able to pursue health and fitness,” Jones said.
BLK Arizona Run Club participants gather for a group stretch before beginning their run at Tempe Town Lake. (Photo by Natalie Lopez/Cronkite News)
The club’s Instagram page promotes wearing color-coded wristbands. A pink wristband indicates someone is “emotionally available, and open to romantic connection.” The blue wristband indicates someone is “open to friendships and networking opportunities.”
“It’s probably better to find a partner at a run club versus the actual club,” Jones said.
Jones and Lauren Petoskey have seen the run club grow in large numbers over the recent months, due in large part to a growing presence on social media. Petoskey, who helps run the club’s Instagram page, said she was casually scrolling through social media and decided to reach out to help with running their page.
“I found their page naturally, just through like a reel on Instagram at 1,200 followers, and now it’s at 45K,” Petoskey said.
The Instagram page blossoming has drawn in many new faces, while also continuing to retain those who have been coming out, such as Crystal Slater.
“It has completely changed my life,” said Slater, who is a cancer survivor. “This is what brings families together. Husbands, wives, children, everybody. There’s a place for you.”
The sense of community has kept people like Slater coming back every Sunday morning, as well as seeing people enjoying themselves while exercising. Promoting inclusivity is important for Petoskey when it comes to spreading the word on Instagram.
“I think it’s just the natural appeal of it,” Petoskey said. “We really, really, really make sure that every person, ethnicity, race, color, whoever you are, is here for it.”
The club is preparing more meetups outside of the typical Sunday morning run, including Saturday hikes, Sunday sunset runs and a Sunday morning Halloween run.
After completing their run, BLK Arizona Run Club members pose for a group photo to celebrate the morning. (Photo by Natalie Lopez/Cronkite News)
Up next for the BLK Arizona Run Club is expansion to other cities. Jones made a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada in the middle of September to see what kind of turnout would happen.
“I wanted to expand to Vegas just because we saw that there was a need there, just like there’s a need here,” Jones said. “We feel that this is something that can be beneficial to people all over the nation.”
Even for those who are not typical runners or exercise enthusiasts, Jones and others are still encouraging all to come out.
“It’s not like a crazy fitness workout,” Jones said.
Slater wants people to know that even if you don’t enjoy exercising, you won’t feel out of place with this run club.
“If you can’t walk, that’s okay,” Slater said. “We’ll push you along. Whatever is necessary. And nobody gets left behind.”
