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Noticing what they called a lack of organized running groups in the community, the folks behind the Run Hollister Run Club have recently begun hosting a weekly running event open to all participants.
According to co-organizer Juan Guzman, the club was created five weeks ago.
“There wasn’t a consistent club in town,” Guzman said, “and it seemed like a sport that needed to be done here.”
Tyler Ham, another co-organizer, said the weekly runs are currently hosted at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and start with a gathering at the Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Hollister.
Ham said it’s about connecting with people in Hollister who have a common interest in running.
“We are not just running, obviously,” he said. “We hope to build a community of wellness enthusiasts, and we want people to meet other runners.”
He said the club is for both newcomers and those who are naturally athletic or very fast.
“We want to have experienced runners,” he said, “who meet their running goals and maybe even do races. But primarily, we want to have fun.”
Ham said the club started as a smaller group, but has seen an increase in interest in Hollister and now has 60 members.
Ham said he is “a big runner, myself,” who has competed in marathons and wanted to share his love of running with others.
“I’ve done three marathons in the last 10 months,” he said, “so I’m more of an experienced runner, but I noticed there wasn’t much of a community for running. I want to see people running.”
Participants in the club’s weekly runs do a two-mile trek that begins and ends at the Veterans Memorial Building, including a loop that goes in front of Hollister High School.
Ham said that some of the members just want to walk, while others run to cover the loop, with the goal of becoming good runners.
“I hear there have been some running clubs in the past,” he said. “We want runners to meet other runners, and also walkers to get out there, too. We use a run-and-walk method; we are getting lots of people running for the first time.”
Club member Lisa Saucedo said she began running as an adult and had not competed in high school.
“I just want to be part of the running community,” she said. “I want to get out here and meet new people.”
Participant Arturo Colmeneero said that running is an escape and an integral part of his life.
“I started running in 2018 after my father passed,” Saucedo said. “I kind of needed something to do, and I found running. I’ve been searching for a running club here in Hollister for a significant amount of time.”
Guzman said it’s not easy to decide to come out and run instead of staying home and relaxing.
“It’s super motivating to see how many people decided to show up today,” he said. “It makes me want to keep coming back, try even harder, and just see everything grow. And if people continue to keep coming, they’ll keep getting faster, healthier.”
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