The Hottest New (Run) Club in Oakland Is Town Strides

On a recent Wednesday evening, the sun was setting over the murky waters of Lake Merritt, and geese, ducks and seagulls flocked in abundance. Hundreds of runners assembled: groups of women in trendy work-out sets; parents telling their children to come on; and seasoned athletes in performance gear. After a warm-up and a pep talk, everyone set off to run, walk or trot the 3.4 miles around the jewel of Oakland.

This is Oakland’s newest run club, Town Strides. “For us, the end goal is to get people outside and active,” says Town Strides co-founder Ashley Hughes. “Also, for Black people to feel comfortable being outside, being active, pushing our bodies more and moving.”

Town Strides meets weekly, and the community has grown exponentially since Hughes first began inviting her TikTok and Instagram followers on “Hot Bae Walks” around the lake to make new friends. After a few random run-ins with Aziza Yaropa, an avid runner, the two decided to come together, and Town Strides was born in May 2024. The club recently had its biggest run to date on Sept. 7, when a collaboration with Black-owned Oakland gym Fitnesse brought out over 300 runners.

“We thought it would be a fun little thing, but we did not expect a turnout like this,” says Yaropa.

Town Strides promotes health consciousness, but community is at its core. After sweating it out each week, joggers make their way to local restaurants for a “cool down” where everyone can connect.

In the past year, social media took run clubs to the next level. A simple scroll reveals that run clubs are popping up in nearly every city in the U.S. — and that many of their members are white. But where does everyone else fit in? In San Francisco, there are over 10 run clubs in a city that span seven by seven miles. Yet to Yaropa and Hughes, organized efforts to put sneakers to pavement felt lacking in Oakland.

Esteban Raheem Abdul Raheem Samoya, an artist, started running with Town Strides back when its weekly participants numbered at around 40. “I think it’s real special for Oakland,” he says. “When we get together, people don’t always see it as positive, but when you see a group of us running, how much more positive can it get?”

That positivity has reached people all over the Bay Area, who now come to Lake Merritt each Wednesday for their weekly trek. Coach Ralph Cooke, 56, and Darnell Turner, 60, were already members of the Black Men Run Club when they decided to also join Town Strides.

“I’ve been running for four decades, and a lot of that time, it was like I was the only Black person out there. But I remember the first time I saw Black Men Run, I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re like a bunch of people who look like me running around the lake,’” Cooke says. “That was important, being part of the community. … I can’t explain it, but it just felt different.”

Lake Merritt has long been where Oaklanders go to connect, celebrate and sweat. The Black Panthers did training drills there in the ’60s. Today, its annual Juneteenth celebration is the place to be for Black pride. Town Strides is just the latest addition to that long legacy, and welcomes everyone — whether they were born and raised in the Town or recently arrived.

Town Strides is where friendship blossomed for Brianna Boyd, 26, and Ciara James, 24, who recently arrived in Oakland from Texas and Oregon respectively. Finding community in a space centered around fun and fitness helped them adjust to their new city.

“Seeing like-minded individuals, especially Black people, all in one space and doing something good for the community,” Boyd says, “and flipping the narrative of Oakland. … We do this every week, and there’s no problem.”

Town Strides meets at 20th and Harrison Street in Oakland for a community run every Wednesday at 6:30. On Sept. 28, they’ll collaborate with the UC Berkeley women’s basketball team for Race for Change, a benefit for Cal Athletics’ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Justice office.