A new club is taking Detroit by storm in an effort to connect African American runners and improve cardiovascular health.
What We Know:
- Joe Robinson and Lance Woods are the founders and meet after a mutual friend introduced them to each other. They both had a passion for running and helping their community, so they decided to make a club that allows them to do both. It allows anyone to join whether you are a beginner or advanced jogger/runner.
- Robinson stated in an interview “Detroit is an 83% black city. If you talk about the things that are killing black people, a lot of them are preventive and self-inflicted diseases. You can talk about guns and violence, but none of that stuff adds up to heart disease, hypertension, diabetes.”
- Obesity has tripled all over the world since 1975, according to the World Health Organization. Detroiters are nearly twice as likely to die from cardiovascular disease than other Americans. Clubs like these allow kids and adults to develop a better lifestyle that involves exercise.
- They meet 3 days a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday to run. They start with a five minute stretch to later chanting as a team: “We run Detroit. We run Detroit. We run 313!” You can join on Tuesdays for a 2-mile run, 5k and 10k on Thursdays, or do a distance run on Saturdays. People are able to go at their own pace. After each run, the team heads to a black-owned business and patronizes them.
- 313 is the famous area code of Detroit which is how they got the name. The Detroit City Council awarded the club with the Spirit of Detroit award in July. This award celebrates the “outstanding achievement or service to the citizens of Detroit.”
- This is just the beginning for this team, they are ambitious and want to have their own clubhouse, equipped with gear, shoes, dietitians, nutritionists, masseuses, physical therapists, and so much more.
For more information click here for their Facebook page.
