I started Meraki Run Club to create a space where runners, walkers, and everyone in between could come together, move their bodies, and build real connections. Every Wednesday at 7 PM, we meet, we run (or walk), and we remind ourselves what it feels like to be present—not just on our phones, not just in our heads, but here, with each other.

In this day and age we are confronted with exclusive communities everywhere we look. I created an inclusive community for all shapes, sizes, likes, dislikes, ethnicities, sexualities, and whatever other labels we put on ourselves to find someplace they can call home once a week.

For many, this isn’t just a weekly workout. It’s an escape, a reset, a mid-week reminder that they’re not alone. People have told me that this one-hour gathering has changed their lives—that they’ve found their people after feeling isolated, that this has become their “highlight of the week.” What started as a simple idea has turned into a true community, a place of support, encouragement, and shared joy.

Each week, I choose a meetup spot—sometimes a place I’ve been wanting to try, other times at local businesses that have reached out, like JuiceLand, Vuori, and Mendocino Farms. By 7 PM, 60 to 70 people are arriving, chatting, stretching, and catching up. Around 7:30, I give a few announcements, thank everyone for showing up, throw out some words of encouragement (mostly to hype myself up because starting is always the hardest part), and then we hit the pavement. There are two routes—one for runners and one for walkers—but we all finish together, exchanging fist bumps and high-fives at the end. And, of course, no Meraki Run Club night is complete without a post-run dinner, decided on the spot by whoever’s craving what.

This is more than a run club. It’s a mid-week ritual, a reminder that movement feels good, and most importantly, that we’re better together.

Come run with us.