We Outside is produced for the ear and designed to be heard, not read. We strongly encourage you to listen to the audio by clicking on the blue "LISTEN" button above, which includes emotion and emphasis not on the page.
It’s a bright Saturday morning, and I’m off to meet Gem City Stride at the Dayton Riverscape. It’s a social run club where community members from across the city—mostly Black—meet twice a week to move, connect, and heal.
I spoke to the founder, Tiara Wright, as well as several participants at today’s run to find out what brought them out. And I learned that they were looking forward to this opportunity for community and connection as much as I was.
“We start together and we finish together. So there’s no one left out, no one to feel like, 'oh I’m going too slow or I need to move a little faster. It’s all at your own pace, and we wait for everyone, and we don’t leave until everyone has come back across the finish line," Wright said. "So I think including that just trying to knock down that whole narrative of, ‘Oh, I’m moving too slow’ or ‘I’m not fit enough.’ It’s not about that. It’s just you simply moving your body with community members.”
Participants spoke about first runs and fast finishes, healing, grief, mental health, and building joy and community through the group.
"What’s special and different about this group is that it’s all beautiful brown people, and that’s important to me as a Black man," one of the participants named Mike said.
"Just do it, just come give us a try, come give it a try. And honestly, you owe that to yourself and your health overall," Wright said.
I find myself feeling more physically fit, more emotionally calm, and more connected every time I attend this group, regardless of the level of activity I’m up for that day.
Gem City Stride builds community every Saturday morning and Tuesday evening. Check out their Facebook page for more details.
We Outside is produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO. It's made possible with support from Five Rivers MetroParks.
