‘A Tribe Called Run’ ready to race in Baltimore Running Festival

By Jenyne Donaldson

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WBAL) — Some members of a Maryland running group have their eyes set on Baltimore’s big race this weekend.

A Tribe Called Run brings together people who are on the move, no matter if it’s fast or slow.

“We’ve built an amazing community of people that just love to run for the same cause, a lot of people that have become family and friends throughout this three-year journey,” said William Walker, the group’s founder.

The group started in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since grown to hundreds of members. Walker told 11 News that when the group was created, people were looking for connection and community and ended up creating tight bonds.

“Even outside of our love for running, people have found a way to connect on another level. So, we have baseball night games, our group chat has, like, five or six different spinoffs of other interest groups that are amongst the hundreds of folks that we have in the organization,” Walker said.

Jameer Robinson has been running alongside those he now calls friends for two years.

“Honestly, the community that surrounds the group, and the people that I saw collecting around the group, really allowed me to feel like I had a safe space to run, especially as a person of color,” Robinson said.

Runners with varying degrees of experience all pound the pavement together, some taking on a 5-mile run while others kept up their stride for 8 miles — slow and fast, all together with a common interest.

“(It) not only keeps me safe, it also allows me to stay motivated because I see everyone else who has really big goals, regardless if it’s fast or slow, we all can pick each other up when we’re feeling down,” Robinson said.

For some, the big goal is to run in Saturday’s Baltimore Running Festival. Several members are planning to participate, so they’re taking it easy this week.

“If you’re a little bit more experienced, this season, we even have a 10-mile option. But again, today, we’re taking it easy since we’re a week out from the race,” Walker said.

A Tribe Called Run meets at 6 p.m. every Monday at the R. House food hall, at 6 a.m. every Wednesday at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and at 6 a.m. every Saturday at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

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