Black-Centered Run Clubs Commemorate Black History Month

Running is healthy and empowering for everyone, yet Black runners may struggle to find representation. Running USA’s 2020 National Runner Survey found that only three percent of all U.S. runners are Black.

During Black History Month and all year long, Black runners and members of Black-centered running clubs in NYC celebrate the past, present, and future of their running experiences. Here, we highlight celebrations and observances of a few local clubs, along with reflections from members on the experience of being a Black runner in NYC.

Check out the details below and on the clubs’ social media, and let us know how your club is celebrating by emailing teammailing@nyrr.org. We know there are many celebrations taking place all month long!

Want to join a club, crew, or team? Visit our website to browse options in and around NYC. 

Ethel K. Wilson, Black Girls Run

Black Girls Run (BGR) is a nationwide running organization with over 70 chapters, whose goal is to encourage and motivate Black women to practice a healthy lifestyle.

Ethel K. Wilson started running in the 1990s, after she quit smoking and started to gain more weight than she felt was healthy. “I needed to replace an unhealthy habit with a healthy one,” she said.

At NYRR races, she felt a kinship with her fellow runners, yet a sense of solitude after she crossed the finish line. “I felt alone in a crowd of like minds,” she said.

She found Black Girls Run NYC’s Facebook page in 2011 and came out to a meetup in Brooklyn.

“I haven’t looked back since,” she said. “What I absolutely love about BGR is the sisterhood. I have formed so many solid and meaningful friendships.” She’s traveled to races across the country with other BGR members and become an NYC chapter ambassador.

For Ethel, representation for Black runners matters. “It is both empowering and comforting,” she said. “It gives one a sense of inclusivity.” She feels that representation of Black runners in NYC has improved, thanks in large part to “the birth of run crews like Black Girls Run NYC…and so many other run crews that started with Black runners and people of color as their focus.”

Black Girls Run NYC celebrates Black history all year long, she said, starting with an annual Martin Luther King Jr. unity run/walk in January. “Throughout the year we encourage, educate, and participate in races and run for causes that commemorate noteworthy Black and people of color in running,” she said. “The magnitude of what we bring to the run community cannot be contained to one month.”

Black Men Run

Black Men Run is an international organization founded in wellness, with the tagline “A Healthy Brotherhood.” The incidence of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular disease is higher in Black men than white men, and heart disease is the #1 cause of death for African American men. Running has proven physical and mental benefits, including lowered risk of heart attack, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes (which affect Black men more than white men), stress relief, and helping combat depression.

Black Men Run NYC, founded in 2013, encourages health and wellness among African American men through weekly group runs and workouts. Keron Alleyne joined in 2016, in part because of the diabetes risk in his family – all four of his grandparents have been affected – and to find and foster a safe running community.

"As a Black runner, there's a lot of things we're running up against," said Keron. "In Black Men Run NYC I found a space where Black men can exist and feel safe and not be stymied by any misperceptions that anyone has of us."

The club looks to Ted Corbitt as a role model (Keron is pictured above with Ted's son Gary Corbitt at the 2022 NYRR Ted Corbitt 15K) and celebrates Corbitt's birthday every January 31 with a 50K run. “On the anniversary of his birth we celebrate his incomparable legacy. One that allowed so many of us to understand we have a place in this run world,” read their Instagram post. 

"If Ted Corbitt could do what he did in his time, who are we to not create safe spaces for Black runners today?" Keron said. 

Black Men Run NYC held a Black Future Month event with other Black-centered clubs on February 18, and will hold a special Black History Month–themed run on Sunday, February 26. "Black history doesn't stand still," said Keron. "It's made by action, and we encourage people to take action and move forward."

Amir Figueroa, Harlem Run

Harlem Run was founded in 2013 and is a collective of runners passionate about running and community, open to all.

Amir Figueroa has been a member since 2014. He started running in 2009 and ran the New York City Marathon to raise funds for a local nonprofit. In Harlem Run, he “found a group that shared my passion of building community, allowed me to be a leader, and created space for other people to transform their lives.”

Amir loves being a part of Harlem Run for many reasons. “It was founded by an Afro-Latina, recognizes the trails that were blazed for us, and we blaze trails for those who will be here when we’re long gone,” he said.

“I’m proud to be a Black man who started his running journey in Harlem, NYC,” he added. “There’s a small percentage of Black runners, and the work we do with Harlem Run seeks to change that and more.”

“Representation [of Black runners] in ads is improving, but I can’t say the same thing for executive positions and teams. It’s a slight improvement, but more work needs to be done. It’s really simple: If you’re in a room and it’s mostly white men and women, either add more Black people to the team or step away and let other people step in.”

At Harlem Run, "we make Black History every day,” he said. The group is celebrating Black History Month with the following events:

• Fundraiser for the 2.23 Foundation via Instagram
• 2.23-mile run, Feb 23, 7:00 p.m. starting at the Invisible Man Memorial in Harlem
• Harlem History Fun Run, February 27, 7:00 p.m.; meet at the comfort station at Marcus Garvey Park (between the baseball field and amphitheater on the west side of the park)

James Ravenell, Black Runners Connection

James Ravenell, the co-founder of Black Runners Connection (BRC), started running in 2014. “It was snowing, and I went for a run in trail shoes,” he recalled. “I had no idea what I was doing, but I liked it.” He ran  the Brooklyn Half that year and has been hooked ever since.

James considers the community of runners in NYC “second to none” and enjoys running here “even when people clutch their purses and move across the street when they see me coming.”

“There is clearly more attention being given to BIPOC representation,” he said. “I see a huge difference in representation with some brands, as well as the absence from some others." 

“Black runners are paying attention,” he added. “They are being more intentional on what brands they patronize, and certain to let brands we spend our resources on know when we expect them to be better. We are also making a point to control our own narrative by creating our own media outlets: podcasts, magazines, radio shows. We are going to improve our representation with allies or without.” 

BRC started in 2014 as a meet-and-greet Facebook group with 40 members who were training for the 2015 Miami Marathon. After the race, the group rebranded as the Black Runners Connection Facebook group, which now has nearly 9,000 members worldwide. BRC created its first local in-person group last fall. “We recognize our mission of increasing the health of Black people through running can never have too many avenues to reach our demographic,” said James.

BRC members are affectionately known as cousins. “We are family!” said James. “When you see family on the pavement, trail, or track you know you aren't alone.”

To commemorate Black History Month, BRC is doing a live stream, BLACK:RUNNER:JOY, on February 26 at 7:00 p.m.  Join here. 

“Running is something we do because we love it,” said James. “It's a normal thing. We want to normalize that joy for people who see us.”

Tara Mardigan, BedStuy Flyers

BedStuy Flyers was created as a way for people of various backgrounds and abilities to share space, work hard, have fun, and always uplift each other along the way. “We believe that running should be accessible, safe, and equitable in Bedford-Stuyvesant and beyond,” said Tara Mardigan, who founded BedStuy Flyers in 2017.  

“Bedford-Stuyvesant has one of Brooklyn's richest histories of Black leaders, organizations, and cultural institutions,” she said. “As a club, we work together to elevate and uplift as we continue to build community.”

The club holds a weekly Thursday morning neighborhood run that’s typically 4 to 5 miles, out-and-back, from Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Putnam Avenue.  

For Black History Month, the club will host a special 6-mile run on February 23 with stops that highlight Black history and culture, including Do The Right Thing Way, Weeksville Heritage Center, Shirley Chisholm Circle, Ebbets Field home plate, Biggie mural, and Lena Horne's BedStuy home, and finishing at a Black-owned business.

Ethel K. Wilson and Amir Figueroa photos by MarathonFoto. BedStuy Flyers photo by Drew Reynolds; @drewreynolds_photo; used with permission.