Uplifting Our Community

Harlem Run is a widely celebrated crew in the New York City running community known for its inclusive approach to welcoming runners of all levels, sizes and paces to their weekly runs. The group originally was co-founded by the married running duo, Amir Figueroa and Alison Mariella Désir, as a way to find a community to run with. Stance had the privilege of heading to the East Coast, teaming up with the crew and testing some of our latest seasonal performance products on an 8-mile run from Lennox Ave through Central Park and back.

The weather was perfect, drawing a large crowd of hyped up runners. After 8 sweaty miles, participants gathered at the Harlem Hub where they enjoyed fresh-squeezed juice from Tom's Juice, rice bowls from Archive Chives, and water from Waiakea. Each runner received a gift of fresh Stance gear and new socks for their next city run. With adrenaline pumping and smiles from ear to ear, we sat down with Harlem Run co-founder, Amir Figueroa to learn more about the group, how they got started, their values, and where they are heading:

WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION BEHIND STARTING HARLEM RUN?

Harlem Run was founded in 2013 by my wife, Alison Mariella Désir. After going through a period of depression, she discovered long distance running and how transformational it can be. She decided to create a group in Harlem to share her new love. At the same time, I was hosting runs monthly out of my church. We eventually met and decided to join forces rather than compete for space and resources in Harlem.

WHAT SETS HARLEM RUN APART FROM OTHER RUNNING GROUPS OR CLUBS IN NYC?

We center social justice and seek to be as inclusive as possible, with regard to pace, age, race, gender, sexuality, etc. We know that running can save and change lives and we take special care to be welcoming to new people and encouraging to those who have more experience. Harlem Run was one of the first, if not the first, group to have a walking group to invite a wider range of people to join us. We now also have a run-walking group, which offers variety and opportunity for more people to be part of our movement. There are now many running groups that offer a walking and run-walking group and we are overjoyed to have been the catalyst for that change.

HOW HAS THE HARLEM RUN IMPACTED THE COMMUNITY SINCE ITS INCEPTION?

Harlem Run positively transforms the lives of those who join us and the community around us. People have left their jobs, gotten new jobs, gotten divorced, found new loves and friends, improved their mental and physical health often citing Harlem Run as the catalyst for allowing them to see that they deserve a better life. We’ve created a deep sense of family and community across generations. Harlem Run has also allowed people to expand their idea of what they thought was possible- whether going from road to trail or marathon to ultra-marathon - Harlem Run has given people the confidence and opportunity to venture out.

WHAT ARE SOME MEMORABLE MILESTONES OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE CLUB?

SO MANY! In 2017, Alison organized a run from Harlem to Washington, DC and raised over $100,000 for Planned Parenthood. This event, known as Run 4 All Women, was powered by Harlem Run at the time, however, that single event ended up inspiring another movement and organization that is now known as Run 4 All Women. We also had the opportunity to take participants to trail races in Colorado, Vermont, and Oregon; we introduced a group of Harlem Run members to mountaineering in the Appalachian Mountains, and we connect members of our community to available job opportunities and resources, including coaching certifications for our leadership team.

HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY WITHIN THE CLUB?

We believe that diversity and inclusion begins with leadership. Our leadership team is diverse in terms of gender, race, age, sexuality, and ability. Recognizing that representation matters and that diverse voices contribute to a diverse community, we are intentional that our leadership reflects that. Furthermore, Harlem Run seeks to be collaborative rather than competitive. In the New York running scene it can often feel like groups are just looking to “One up” each other. We are not interested in those politics.

WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS THE FOUNDER OF HARLEM RUN, AND HOW HAVE YOU OVERCOME THEM?

The biggest challenges I’ve faced as a leader and co-founder of Harlem Run are around access to resources and financial support for our initiatives. As a free, volunteer led organization, we often find it difficult to execute the ideas that we have for our community. We recently created an opportunity for community members to contribute to Harlem Run - providing access to our online community on Heylo for a small fee. We are thankful for all of those folks that believe in Harlem Run and know the value of it who give their time and money to keep our work going.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME UNIQUE EVENTS OR INITIATIVES ORGANIZED BY THE CLUB?

One of my favorite events is #HarlemRunStairs, which we’ve been hosting for the past 9 years. We host the event in February, typically falling on the coldest day of the year, and challenge participants to run a loop that always includes a different set of stairs. It’s been really cool to see and experience the mental and physical toughness of all those who take on the challenge. Another unique event that we host is the “MXMRelay” or the Malcolm X Marathon Relay. It’s a marathon relay that takes place exclusively in Harlem and allows teams to create their own unique routes incorporating required checkpoints. Finally, we do a lot of work with Take Care of Harlem, a local nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of those in Harlem. We organize school supply drives, toy drives, participate in park and street cleanups. Taking care of our community is important to us…

HOW HAS THE CLUB EVOLVED OR GROWN SINCE IT WAS FIRST ESTABLISHED?

Harlem Run started as a small group of strangers who committed to showing up week in and week out to move together. We’ve grown to become an internationally known movement that transforms the lives of those who join us in person or virtually, one time or every time. We now host events up to a couple thousand at a time, have held retreats everywhere from upstate New York to Costa Rica.

WHAT FUTURE GOALS OR PLANS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE HARLEM RUN?

Our biggest goal is to one day have a year-round physical space in our community to provide space for physical movement, community gatherings, art exhibitions, mental health resources and more. Our impact has been so profound over the past 10 years and we know that with a physical space and resources, we could reach and positively impact even more people. We also hope to get more BIPOC members of our leadership team certified as running coaches, and give them access to more outdoor activities.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF STANCE BEFORE US WORKING TOGETHER ON A COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP?

Of course we’d heard about Stance! Who hasn’t!? I was first drawn to Stance because of the incredible socks - I love the bold designs and collaborations. In fact, we would love to see a future sock collaboration with Harlem Run! I’m now super excited to try all of the run products.

WHAT’S AHEAD FOR HARLEM RUN?

So much! Events wise, we are preparing for our annual Juneteenth 5K that we host in Central Park, ending near the area formerly known as Seneca Village. Seneca Village which was the largest community of free, African-American property owners in pre-Civil War New York. The community was destroyed under eminent domain for the construction of Central Park. In July, we will host another 5K event, the #OnlyInHarlem 5K on Randall’s Island that supports our work and the Never Stop Running Foundation. During New York City marathon week, we will host Harlem Run House - a 4 day activation featuring runs, panels, giveaways, and community in Harlem, the birthplace of the modern running movement.