Do you think running with a new group is scary? What about running with an “old” group after a long hiatus?
This week I ran with the City Fit Girls Run Club, a group I joined just over a year ago. I haven’t been able to run with the group regularly for various reasons, but I thought it was the perfect candidate for my next Running Club Roundup! Keep reading to find out how it went!
I’m sharing this post with Jill Conyers‘ Fitness Friday linkup!
[bctt tweet=”It’s time for another Running Club Roundup – meet the City Fit Girls Running Club! #cityfitgirls #run215″]
Running Club Roundup
If you are new to Run With No Regrets, the Running Club Roundup is a new series on the blog where I’m challenging myself to try out ALL of the running clubs in the Greater Philadelphia Area. From my last count, there are over 40 groups – so that’ll keep me busy!
My first run of the series was with The Philly Runners – check out my experience in case you missed it. The Running Club Roundup is every first and third Thursday of the month!
City Fit Girls Run Club
I was struggling a bit to determine which group to run with this week. I’ve had a pretty busy schedule recently, but Wednesday night was the perfect opportunity to get back to the City Fit Girls Running Club. I had an easy 4-mile run on tap, so I knew that this would be just right.
Who Are They?
The City Fit Girls are an INCREDIBLE group that was in founded in Philadelphia by Kiera Smalls and Takia McClendon to encourage women to lead fun, active, healthy lives. They host great events throughout the year – boot camps, group bike rides, shopping opportunities, and have an annual Fit Retreat in August. They have really taken the Philly fitness scene by storm! I’m also proud to be a City Fit Girls Ambassador.
The City Fit Girls Run Club was founded a little over a year ago by Takia, and what was once a group of 5-6 women can now see 20 or more on a run!
They meet at the following times:
- Wednesdays at 6:30 pm: 3 mile runs starting at Dilworth Park along various routes
- Saturdays at 8:30 am: 6+ mile runs starting at Dilworth Park heading to the Schuylkill River Trail
Of course, all group runs are free to attend!
Running With The Group
As usual, I was running a bit late to the meeting spot at Dilworth Park on Wednesday. I live about a mile away, so I ran there so that I could satisfy my 4-mile run.
When I arrived, I spotted a large group of women standing in a circle. This was new – and slightly scary! I recognized Rachel, one of the awesome group leaders, and she told me we were going around giving introductions. Each young lady introduced themselves, many of which were first-timers, and shared the races they were training for, if any. It was nice to see what everyone was up to. Most of the women appeared to be in their early to mid-20’s.
Once we made our rounds, Takia laid out the ground rules: Don’t leave anyone behind, follow the traffic signs, no headphones. We were encouraged to talk to someone we didn’t know and to look out for each other. As a relatively shy person in large groups, I appreciated the message.
The route took us from Dilworth Park down Market Street where we headed to the Schuylkill River Trail. Once we got there, we went south until we made it to the South Street Bridge, going up a nice, steep ramp to the top of the bridge. Then we made our way back to where we started.
I got going on the run and was a little bit nervous because I know that so many of the women are TIGHT and will run together and talk about all kinds of things. In the past, I’ve ended up basically running by myself because I couldn’t break out of my shell. This time, I wanted to push myself.
So I made sure I always had other women around me. I was tempted to start a conversation with someone who seemed a little quiet, but I didn’t want to be a bother. Instead, I started chatting with a nice woman who just ran the NYC marathon. She told me about supporting a runner from Achilles International and how it was a great experience.
I always get nervous that I talk too much or that I’m annoying on a run. While we ran, I was getting a bit fatigued so I started to slow down a bit. She checked to make sure I was okay. The weather was in the 70’s so it was a very warm run – though I’m not complaining!
I took a short break at the South Street Bridge then started to make my way back down the ramp. I talked to Mary Beth for the rest of the way, another really nice runner who I was relieved that we ran the same pace. She ran the Rock and Roll Philly the past weekend, and shared how pregnancy has affected her running – thankfully all is well!
Before I knew it the run was coming to an end. Kiera and two other runners joined us and we were the last of the pack. I had NO problem with that one bit! We ran and dodged people on the sidewalks and had an overall good time.
After the Run
Since I was in the last group of runners, we were happily greeted by all of the women that had already finished their runs. We were all hot and sweaty! I was able to chit-chat for a while, catching up with Nancy – a fellow City Fit Girls Ambassador who will be heading to Disney World in February for the Princess race weekend.
I also found out that City Fit Girls will be hosting a fancy end of the year celebration, so I’m really looking forward to that! They really know how to throw a party.
I ended up getting only 3.7 miles from the run, so I finished up my 0.3 and headed back home. I wasn’t sure if people were interested in grabbing dinner since sometimes the group will get Sweetgreen or Honeygrow post-run but this time we all went our separate ways.
The Verdict
The City Fit Girls Run Club is such a warm, welcoming group and such an asset to the Philly running community. I really appreciated how they took the time to say that “no one is left behind” and that we should make the effort to meet someone new. You could see that amazing bonds have been formed between the women in the group – I would love to be a part of that.
There tends to be 2-3 pockets of groups of runners, so it’s relatively easy to find a pack to run with comfortably, and that’s great. It’s not as rigid as other groups that divide you up by pace – so you can really run by feel. However, if you’re in serious training and glued to your GPS watch, this may not be the best group for you.
I do have to add one caveat: If you’re a guy, you’ll have to find another group. Ladies only!
Once softball season is over, I look forward to participating in Saturday morning group long run with City Fit Girls! I would love to deepen my connections with these really cool ladies!
So check out City Fit Girls! They’re also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and spreading around the country!
Have you ever run with an all women’s group?
Sounds like a great bunch of women!
They are awesome!
I know there are groups for all paces, but I never believe them when they say “all paces welcome”! Too many groups think “slow” is 9 minute miles. I’m glad you had a good experience!
I know right? I have been burned in that regard a couple of times. CFG is such a fun and supportive group to run with!
What a fun idea!! I’ve never run with a big group, but I love the concept!
I definitely recommend it for a change of pace!
Awesome!!! i am so glad this worked out well!! You are so brave!
Mid 20s….and no headphones-eeek! I don’t know what I would talk about as I am twice their age-lol!
I run with the local BGR ( Black Girls Run)and MRTT (Moms Run This Town). It has been a while since I have run with both ans almost feel like it would be so Awkward when I go back to them. The MRTT group tends to be a bit less intimidating to me than the BGR group (its weird).
I think BGR can be intimidating sometimes, the Philly group is such a HUGE force! It should never feel awkward coming back to a group, I like being able to come and go whenever I please!
What a fun experiment this is! Sounds like a great group!
City Fit Girls are awesome…they have had runs in NYC, so they are definitely growing!
I run with MRTT on occasion and really enjoy it.
I love the “no runner left behind” philosophy. I’m not a fan of running by myself in a group. If I’m going to run alone, I might as well do it from my house.
Right?! It should be a no-brainer that you don’t run in a group to be alone! MRTT looks like an awesome group!
This sounds like a much better experience than your last one. Yay! I haven’t run with an all-women’s group, but have been the only female in an otherwise all-male group. That definitely inspired me to pick up the pace!
I normally run with only guys, so it’s been great doing more runs with women only!
Love this..wondering if I could start a group near me…for turtle runners like me 🙂
We need more running groups for turtle runners! 😀
This is so cool! I think we have something like this in Rehoboth, but that’s a bit far for me! Trying so hard to move closer to Philly partly for stuff like this! So much amazing stuff to get involved in!
We are fortunate to have such great running groups in Philly, that’d be awesome if you moved up this way!
I have heard great things about this running group! I work in University City/West Philly area so will try to catch a run with you ladies sometime soon:) I have a local MRTT group in NJ that has been alot of fun so far!
Oh nice, you should definitely come check it out! And I hear MRTT is another great group.
I think it’s great that you’re doing these group runs – maybe you’ll convince me to get out of my comfort zone 😉
Hehe, I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone one running group at a time…it’s gonna be a long ride!
This looks like a blast! I ran with a big group when training for the Chicago marathon and LOVED it! I teach at a few gyms here in Naples and some of the snowbirds have invited me to run with them in their running clubs – I may be the youngest one by 30 years but I should take them up on it sometime 🙂
That’s awesome! If you get an invitation to join a running club, you should so take the opportunity! Sounds like some welcoming snowbirds 🙂
This group sounds great! In a big city, it is great to have so many options. I live in a small town and we have 1 group and I try and plan my Saturday long runs with them for sure!
I would think long runs with a group would be awesome – I always enjoy a long run with at least one other person..helps the time pass!
This sounds like a great group. I love the way they don’t leave anyone behind and headphones aren’t allowed!! Very cool!
It takes awhile for me to get out of my shyness, but if I come more often, I think I’ll get there!
sounds like a great group to be a part of. Love this idea of checking out community running groups.
Running is such a great way to meet new people. City Fit Girls is a great group of women!
I wish I lived in an area where there were many running groups to choose from. I am from the Philly suburbs so am excited to read that this is where you are checking out all of the groups. This group sounds like a fun one!
Oh nice! So many groups in the area it’s almost ridiculous lol. And if there isn’t one that you like, you can always try to start your own!
Sounds like a good group. I like the “no headphones” rule. The very first group run I went to everyone wore headphones!! I feel like I blather on when I run with friends, but that’s what makes the miles go by quickly.
I’m surprised people would come to a group run with headphones…I like to have conversations and it would seem rude!
LOVE the female aspect!
Ladies rock! Black Girls Run is another all women’s running group that’s really big in Philly too!
How fun!! They is so cool that Philly has so many running groups! I have never run with all women, but I bet it would be a blast!!
I really love that aspect of it because when I first started running with other people it was only with guys, and I always felt like I was slowing them down.
This is awesome! I just moved to Minneapolis a few months ago and I have been so nervous to check out running groups even though there are so many here! It is quite intimidating I feel. What a great goal and blog series!
Thanks Jill, I’m so glad you like it! For my series, I made a list of the local running groups and I’m just taking it one at a time – maybe that’ll help you get started. It’s scary but exciting too!
I wish I lived in Philly so I could run with this group! I have been intimidated by running groups but I am getting more confiendnt in my running so I am considering joining one. I was strongly thinking about it before I read your post but now I am positive I will. I wish we had a local group that was just women that wasn’t focused on Mom’s. The mom’s groups are super accepting of non moms but I would love a group that was just a women’s group!
Aw, I’m so glad you’re thinking of joining a group! It’s so worth trying out! 🙂
Sounds like it was a lot of fun! There is a local running club in my city that I have been wanting to try out. They always seem like they have so much fun!
I hope you were able to check out that running group! It’s a great way to try something new!
I have not run with an all women’s group, but it sounds fun! I regularly run on Saturdays with a group because they offer supported long runs.
I’ve seen different running groups on the weekend that have hydration stops along the way – that has to be a huge help!
I need to find a running club to join again. Running friends are the best kind of friends. They understand the craziness 🙂
Yes, us runners are crazy and understand each other well, haha! 🙂