What are run clubs for? Ask Blacklist LA
Erik Valiente has been blending health and artistic exploration of Los Angeles to build and serve the Blacklist LA community for 11 years
Run clubs have been a hot topic for the past 12 months, but the idea of running with a group is a new one for so many. As a result, I often see people asking where exactly all these run clubs came from (there are 150 in Los Angeles now), and otherwise trying to make sense of the phenomenon when news headlines focus on the more fringe clubs – the ones that focus on dating, or the ones that block traffic with their numbers.
The real underbelly of the running community is found in run clubs like Blacklist LA, which, by being in its 12th year, is one of Los Angeles’ historic run clubs.
I personally ran with Blacklist just one time, back in 2014 or 2015, when I was searching for new friends. (It’s always been a thing!) I’d seen someone wearing a Blacklist shirt on one of the 5k or 10k races I was running while getting to know the big new city I’d just moved to.
Via Instagram I’d successfully identified a group that was interested in two of the same things I was interested in – running and street art – but when I got to the Urban Lights at LACMA, I was completely overwhelmed by the sight of 500 strangers waiting to run. Even though the concept was cool as hell, social anxiety dictated that I would never return.
I always kept an eye out for their runs and races, though. After Run Dem Crew founder, Charlie Dark specifically asked about Blacklist LA when we met in London, and then my anti-running friend James asked me if I’d heard of the group, I figured it was the universe telling me it was high time I met up with Blacklist LA founder, Erik Valiente for a coffee in Mid-City.
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life - Pablo Picasso
If running is the new streetwear, it’s important to acknowledge that Blacklist LA has been celebrating the street art that this city is beautifully peppered with for over a decade. The idea came from a time when Erik was hurt and couldn’t run, so he would cycle to work.
“Before that, I would drive around the city, and I would see these murals. In the car it was always difficult to pop a u-turn, find parking, and take a picture. When I started cycling I could just hop off my bike, and really take in the art.”
“It really felt free, and I wanted to give that feeling to other people, but they didn’t have bikes, or didn't feel safe cycling through the city, so I thought, ‘Why don't we just run to a mural?’”
So they ran. It was a Monday night in 2013 when Erik and friends ran around the Fairfax-Melrose area and took in the street art in the neighborhood, which was the home to streetwear giant Supreme, among others.
Erik’s favorite spot to run with the group is the appropriately-named Arts District, but for him, there are no limits.
“Whenever I see some [new street art] pop up on Instagram or TikTok, or somebody asks me if I saw a mural, if it's in L.A. County, I will run to it. I just ran from Los Angeles to Compton to visit the Kendrick mural. That's a trek that I don't recommend for a lot of people because you're running through some hot neighborhoods that will check you.”
A run club for everyone, everywhere (in L.A.)
While Erik has run an impressive 18 consecutive L.A. Marathons, his very first run outside of the confines of a high school schedule was the 8 miles from this Mid City neighborhood down to Venice Beach with a couple of basketball teammates.
“I told my friends, ‘Let's run to the beach and hang out!’ You can't run further than the ocean, so we packed a bag with water, some oranges and apples. We knew if we went west on Venice Blvd, we're gonna get to the sand. There was no map.”
As lifelong city-dwelling adults, Erik and I laugh about now having to purposefully add reminders to do things like go to the beach and really, really appreciate the city we live in. People travel thousands of miles to see what we have on our doorstep, after all. Even though I live here, I never want to stop being a tourist in this city, so another thing I really appreciate about Blacklist LA is that it’s a group that enjoys exploring different parts of Los Angeles.
You can join Blacklist for Monday night art runs and Sunday morning coffee runs in locations that vary between DTLA, Fairfax, Mid-City, Koreatown, and East Hollywood, their track night is in Crenshaw, and the long runs (and L.A. Marathon program) are at Griffith Park.
With the run schedule further extended to accommodate a walk-to-run program for those beginning their journey, a women-only program, and an elite runner program for those aiming to qualify for Boston, Erik has made sure that there is something for everyone.
Making it official
This full schedule came from a moment when he noticed “a lot of people trying to get Boston qualification or a certain time.” He could see the community evolving but at the time Erik still “just wanted to run with people, and showcase art all over the city.” He knew that his community needed more than Blacklist LA was offering, so he took his USATF running coaching certification. Blacklist had a coach.
“I remember growing up, there wasn't a running coach that I could go to. The only people that I remember were more connected to the LA Marathon, and it was expensive. You had to have disposable income. I wanted to provide that resource and expertise to our community.”
With a mission to “connect people to community, art, and running, and to promote health and wellness in the city of Los Angeles,” he’s ploughing a praiseworthy furrow, but even as a registered 501(c)3 charity, it’s not all plain sailing.
“We're in the space of supporting young adults. A lot of the grants for health, culture, and art are either for kids or the elderly, so when we apply for grants, they look at us and think everybody could just get a gym membership, but I think people are starting to see the impact of running clubs.”
Erik formalized his run club as a charity so that he could dedicate all of his time to the community that he’s built, and while there can be frustrations with governmental funding, it’s a more discerning situation when it comes to working with brands.
“We're one of the groups that says no to brands all the time. This is why I feel like we don't have long partnerships with brands. They ask for a lot. We don't want to give away our identity for nothing.”
So what’s his advice to run club founders who have built something that others want to latch onto?
“Have your numbers right. Know your worth. That's part of our core values.”
“People are starting to wake up to what they have. We're spending so much time – hours, effort, energy – into building a community. If a brand comes in… they have a lot of money. They don't have to give LeBron the extra million dollars. They could give that to 50 communities. Whether it's Los Angeles, Chicago, or London, work with us to improve the city.”
Health is wealth: the next generation
While I’ve always looked for shared interests to find my run crews, whether it be art, film, or craft beer, health is an increasingly understood factor in why people are joining (and forming) run clubs, and Erik has always been all about it.
“I think health is important now more than ever before. As I got older, I [saw family members] and thought they could have easily prevented that diagnosis if they would have just exercised 20-30 minutes. I'm not asking them to run. Just get moving. Join a dance class, hike, bike, whatever.”
“When we first started it was more like let's run at night. Let's pump some music, visit graffiti, and give folks the freedom to explore the city on foot. The underlying tone there would be health, but they didn’t really know they were participating in a 3-mile run. They thought they were just going to see some street art.”
Going back to that time I ran with Blacklist, there were hundreds of people but there were also low-single-figures of regularly organized run clubs in Los Angeles back in 2014. Cut to 2024, and there are over 150 run clubs in L.A. and Blacklist draws from a smaller pool these days as well, with 25-50 regularly showing up to runs.
The wealth of runners is being shared a bit more evenly across Los Angeles these days, but why the boom? One reason is that there’s a general move towards community, sure, but it’s that focus on health that’s less alien to younger generations.
Multiple studies point towards Millennials and Gen Z being increasingly more health conscious than their parents due to increased awareness of and access to information about the importance of healthy eating and physical fitness on our health.
Erik and I compare notes on how much we had to cajole our younger selves into being active. It wasn’t behavior that we’d seen modeled in our homes while growing up. Erik is thankful that he has at least managed to inspire his parents to be active for those 20-30 minutes a day.
“I actually saw my dad on the way here, doing one of his walks, but growing up in a Latino household, health and wellness wasn’t top of mind. Paying for the shoes and the gear was always looked at as a luxury.”
He tells me that people would give him funny looks when he would run around his neighborhood, but he’s always thinking about how he can help the next generation think about running the same way they think about brushing their teeth, and he’s happy with his position as a leader.
“The high school kids from Crenshaw called me Unc the other day, like I’m an old head,” he laughs.
After over a decade of leading Blacklist, it’s a worthy title. Whether you’re wondering where run clubs came from or what a run club’s purpose can be, you need look no further than the example of Erik Valiente and Blacklist LA. Art, running, and health. Who says no to that community?
Links & further reading
Blacklist LA [WEB]
Other L.A. run clubs I’ve profiled include: Koreatown Run Club, Venice Run Club, South Central Run Club, Skid Row Running Club, Silver Lake Track Club, and more.
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Thanks for reading
- Raz x
Great chat, Raz! Just to clarify, in case someone is doing the math. Clubs are worth way more than $20K (referring to the LeBron reference above). If it's not bringing in six to seven figures a year, we're not interested. Keeping a community alive and thriving requires money, time, love, and effort.
-Erik