DETROIT – The runners who created We Run 313 have a simple motto: Connect, Run and Build.
They want to connect African American runners and help grow the sport in the community.
"We run Detroit. We run Detroit. We run 313!"
It’s a call that is being heard all around Metro Detroit. In just shy of two months, this group of runners is making quite an impression.
Lance Woods and Joe Robinson founded We Run 313.
“It’s a lot of talent in this city and we wanted to use running as a platform to bring us together,” Woods said.
They meet Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday to run. It doesn’t matter how far or how fast you can go, you’re welcome to run with the group.
“I mean, it’s for runners of all levels. Our whole run club is for runners of all levels,” Woods said.
The group started through a couple of social media posts. Through the power of social media, things took off from there.
“People would be tagging me in his photos and vice-versa. So one day, we said, 'Let’s get together and run.' There isn’t a lot of African Americans that run, like that anyway. So when you see one, you don’t let them go,” Robinson said.
The numbers grew from just two members to about 70.
They are also partnering with Detroit Versus Everybody to spread the word throughout the whole city,
“We do these things call pop-up runs. What a pop-up run is, what it means for us, we take our run club and we set up shop at a black business anywhere in Detroit,” Robinson said.