How a community uptown comes together to run 🏃♂️ Hector Espinal of WRU Crew
Listen on: Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Overcast, Pocketcast, RSS
Read: Transcript
"Running uptown isn't normal, especially our kind of social running. You might see one middle-aged white person running along Riverside Drive on a long run, but you never saw anyone running on Broadway, Amsterdam, or Washington Avenue. So when people started seeing a big group of us running, it’s very, very different from what they’re used to." - Hector Espinal
Show Notes
Growing up in NYC’s Washington Heights neighborhood, Hector Espinal never imagined he’d one day become a runner.
Hec on the right with Josh Mock. Photograph by Kelvin Gil
But after a hard break up, Hec’s sister encouraged him to start running to get healthy. Then Hec’s sister went back to school, and hewas left alone to run. “I knew for a fact that if I ran by myself, I would run a couple of blocks and then start walking or just turn back,” he told us. So Hec started asking friends to join him. “Meet me at 168th and Broadway. We’re going for a run on the bridge,” Hec would text to everyone he knew and post on Facebook.
Today We Run Uptown, or WRU Crew, the run club Hec sparked five years ago with those early runs, meets every week, even through the dead of winter. It’s a remarkable sight. As many as 100 runners gather at the same spot on Mondays at 7:00 pm. The diverse group runs the streets to hoots and hollers of support from folks in the neighborhood.
“When you have a group of friends, it’s really, really hard to not do something. You have people that are holding you accountable. You have a support system.”
How did Hec build such a special community around running? We met up with him in Central Park to learn the answer.
Three Takeaways from Hector
1. Big things often start small.
Hector’s first run was with just a few of his sister’s friends. WRU Crew welcomes hundreds of people today because Hec kept running and summoning friends to join him. If you want a community to gain momentum, you’ll have to stick at organizing week after week.
2. Get your people talking.
If you want to build a true community (not an audience!) members need to forge direct connections with one another. At first, WRU Crew didn’t make space or time for those bonds to form. “We would just run in a park, then we would bounce because there’s nothing to do. No one wants to loiter in a park in New York City.” Now, Hec and Josh partner with Bodega Pizza, a restaurant in Washington Heights, so members can get to know each other on their own terms over pizza and beer after runs. “It’s our opportunity to kick it and just be together,” he told us. “Access to beers, pizza, and a bathroom and food is inviting. People want to stay.”
Josh Mock and Hector Espinal wrap up a run. Photograph by Kelvin Gil
3. Commit to diversifying.
Every community attracts certain folks while repelling others. If you believe in creating a diverse and inclusive culture, you’ll have to lead members through welcoming new folks. Hec and his co-founder Josh Mock actively decided that WRU Crew should be for their own neighborhood but also welcome new members of all kinds. Today, the diversity of their group brings them pride.
Get Together is produced by the team at People & Company.
We published a book and worked with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities.
Stay up to date on all things Get Together.