Want to get healthier and move more? You don’t have to do it alone. You’ve got options for community, motivation and education to help you match your stride with others in the Indy area.
“For a lot of our ladies, it’s building those relationships – it’s building that rapport … that encouragement that you can get out here on the pavement and walk in your neighborhood or meet up at the group runs,” said Bonita Hale, a co-ambassador of Black Girls RUN! Indianapolis.
Local running groups, which often welcome walkers, can provide all those benefits, plus safety in numbers, and help you grow your vision for what’s possible. You just have to know where to look for that support.
Online you’ll find groups like Indy Runners and Walkers, a Circle City-based member of the Road Runners Club of America; Black Girls RUN! Indianapolis; and the Black Men Run Indy chapter.
Black Men Run and Black Girls RUN! bust through preconceptions about who’s hitting the pavement, while breaking down barriers for people who might be reluctant to do that where they live.
“Honestly, I didn’t know that many Black guys or Black people were out there running – it was just a stereotype I guess,” said Chris Herbert, a co-captain of the local Black Men Run group, which he founded in 2014. “I was like ‘OK, we are out here running.’”
Both Herbert and Hale said people of all races – and paces – are welcome to join their groups.
The same goes for Indy Runners and Walkers, said president Andrew Scott. “I don’t care if you’re brand new or if you are a seasoned ultramarathoner. You are welcome at our club. There’s no judgment.”
For all the focus on fitness, running and walking clubs tend to be fairly chill about what’s required of members.
Indy Runners and Walkers, which offers organized runs every day of the week, starting from different locations (from downtown to Broad Ripple to Fort Ben); charges $35 annually for membership. That also includes access to training plans for half marathons and marathons, and guest speakers.
Black Girls RUN! Indianapolis and the local Black Men Run chapter are free to join with a more modest, but still regular, group meetups schedule.
In addition to providing training support, the all-volunteer running groups typically have a presence at running events, so members know they’ll have others cheering them on.
“I don’t care if you’re brand new or if you are a seasoned ultramarathoner. You are welcome at our club. There’s no judgment.”
— Andrew Scott, Indy Runners and Walkers president
Group leaders provide technical input on proper running form; how to dress for performance – from shoes to cold weather gear; and proper hydration. They also offer the human element: personal attention for all members.
For that new group member who is slower or is walking, a running group leader will often hang back with them. “We never run off and leave them,” Herbert said – something Scott and Hale echoed.
“We do promote safety, and there is safety in numbers,” Hale added. “That’s another reason that I do believe a lot of our ladies do come out – because they’re never by themselves.”
Still not sure who to join? Try a lower-tech approach: Ask around.
“Word of mouth is still a lot stronger than what people think,” Herbert said.
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