Commentaries at the San Antonio Report provide space for our community to share perspectives and offer solutions to pressing local issues. The views expressed in this commentary belong to the author alone.

After more than a year of leading a run club in San Antonio, I’ve noticed something that still surprises me.

Every week, people start to arrive one by one. Some are stretching on the curb, some are laughing quietly with a friend and a few wander up alone, offering shy hellos. Almost every time, someone apologizes — for being slow, for missing a few weeks, for walking instead of running. Sometimes they apologize before they even say their name.

And every week, I tell them the same thing: “It’s okay — I don’t care.”

Because that’s the truth I’ve learned as a run club leader: most people don’t join run clubs to run. They join to belong.

San Antonio is a city built on connection. We center food, family and celebration in almost everything we do. Yet when it comes to wellness, many people feel like they don’t belong — that fitness is reserved for a certain body type, income level or type of experience.

All ages and paces welcome during the Dreamers Run Club meets. Credit: Courtesy / Nicholas Vincent

That gap matters. Where you live in San Antonio can shape how long you live. According to statewide life expectancy mapping data study by the UT Southwestern Medical Center, life expectancy can vary by nearly 20 years between neighborhoods just miles apart — ranging from about 67.6 years in ZIP code 78208 to about 89.2 years in ZIP code 78254. Residents in lower-income neighborhoods often face higher rates of chronic disease, limited access to healthy food and fewer safe spaces to move.

The City of San Antonio has taken steps to support movement and wellness through funding tools like the City Council Project Fund, investments in parks and trail systems and free fitness opportunities in public spaces. These efforts help lower barriers to physical activity, but it takes more than building a new park — it takes creating community and offering support.

While meaningful change never happens overnight, I think progress starts with the smaller, consistent actions that create trust and connection. Each of us can foster a sense of belonging while also creating and supporting free group communities where people feel seen and welcomed exactly as they are.

This is where I see our run club quietly making a difference.

Over 300 runners gather in front of Pullman Market for a group photo before a Monday evening run. Credit: Courtesy / Nicholas Vincent

What happens when people show up isn’t a race. It’s neighbors noticing when someone’s missing, encouraging each other to keep going and laughing together on the sidewalks. It’s people who never considered themselves “fit” discovering that movement feels different when it’s social. It’s first names remembered, conversations continued and routines built not out of discipline, but connection.

Some walk. Some run. Some just show up to talk afterward. And all of it counts.

I’ve watched members grow in ways they didn’t expect. A person who once worried about holding a pace finds joy in finishing together. We discover together that the energy of a group makes consistency easier than solo workouts ever could. Belonging becomes the reason they keep coming, long before fitness becomes the goal.

Alongside my cofounders — Jessika Eskandr, Shawn Barnett and Jessica Cordoway — I make it a priority to welcome everyone who shows up, especially those running for the first time or unsure if they belong.

This is what makes run clubs such a quietly powerful tool for health: they take a free or low-cost approach, centered on encouragement rather than perfection. They show that wellness doesn’t have to be exclusive. It can be social, accessible and sustaining — especially in a city where health outcomes are so uneven.

If we want a healthier San Antonio, we need more spaces where people feel they belong before they feel “ready.” We need to stop treating fitness as a test to pass and start seeing it as a place to gather.

Runners in Dreamers Run Club experience new routes throughout the year, with meeting locations changing every week. Credit: Courtesy / Nicholas Vincent

Because what keeps people moving isn’t how fast they run. It’s knowing that someone will notice when they show up and when they don’t.

I challenge you to join a local San Antonio run club this week, whether you run or walk. With the growth of niche run clubs across San Antonio — including neighborhood groups, pace groups, or identity-based communities — you can find a place that feels right for you. Your next step could be the start of a habit, a friendship, or a community that changes your health and maybe even the health of our city.

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Brittany Ulep is a co-founder and leader of Dreamers Run Club, one of the largest running communities in the country. Through strategic vision, creativity, and dedication to fostering connection, Brittany...