A run club with a mission

Jan. 24, 2026, arrived with a sharp edge. The new year was still fresh, but in Rochester, the cold had already settled in for the long haul. Minus six degrees.

You would have been hard-pressed to find anyone walking the streets downtown, let alone running.

Unless, of course, you were a member of the 1% Run Club. 

“It took us a while to think of that name,” says Brandon Pinkins, 33, a founding member. “The idea is that the goal is to be 1 percent better than we were the day before. It’s about constant improvement. Whether you run a 12-minute-and-32-second pace and next time it’s 12 minutes and 29 seconds, that’s still better. As long as you’re doing something toward your health goal, that’s improvement.”

The club started in a group chat between Pinkins, Edward Rose, and some friends from East High School. The spark was simple: someone suggested joining a running club. Then someone else said, “I think we need one for Black people.”

“When we looked at other run groups, they were predominantly white,” Pinkins says. “You would see one Black person running in the group. That’s cool, but we were tired of being the minority. We know a lot of athletes. So, why don’t we run?”

But the need for a space like this runs deeper than just wanting to see familiar faces. It’s about health, too—about the gaps that still exist for Black communities.

The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports research, grants, and policy work to build a more equitable, accessible, and high-quality health care system, published a report in April showing that Black Americans continue to face persistent health disparities. The report found that Black Americans have a 74-year life expectancy, the lowest among major U.S. groups, along with higher rates of premature mortality from avoidable causes. Major health challenges include high rates of heart disease, hypertension—61% of women and 56.8% of men—and diabetes complications.

Running, meanwhile, has been tied to significant health benefits. A 2014 study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology analyzed 55,137 adults and found that runners had a 30% lower adjusted risk of all-cause mortality and a 45% lower adjusted risk of cardiovascular mortality than non-runners.

On July 4, 2024, after weeks of texts and social media nudges, the 1% Run Club laced up for its first run. Twenty people gathered at the Rochester Public Market, ready to cut through downtown and back again.

One of the people who answered that initial call was Keila Diaz, 36.

“It started with wanting to be more active, but then it became about community,” Diaz says. “Now, it’s something I look forward to.”

Diaz, who is Puerto Rican, says the club has expanded beyond its original focus, although they still see themselves as a run club for Black people. Now, their Saturday runs attract people from many backgrounds, and everyone is welcome.

“There’s no initiation. You just show up,” Pinkins says.

Erika O’Nell Catalan is proof that the 1% Run Club is about more than just logging miles.

A former runner who had stepped away from the habit after having children, Catalan returned to movement through the club and made it part of her family’s routine.

“She’s been doing her thing,” Pinkins says. “She runs with the babies. She’s got two of them in that stroller, pushing, and she’ll get her runs in. She’s been telling us how she has dropped weight since joining, which has been great.”

Losing weight was part of Catalan’s goal, but it’s her steady presence that stands out now. Her kids are there for nearly every run, turning movement into something ordinary, something the whole family shares—an activity that feels like home.

“I’ve seen women in the group cry while talking about how they didn’t have new friends before this,” Diaz says. “Some had a ‘no new friends’ mindset, but the group helped them build new relationships. You see people sitting together and laughing who you might not have expected to connect. It’s really nice.”

There are youth runs, too. Kids tag along—children, nieces, nephews—racing through parks, feeding ducks, donning costumes for Halloween, even trying out sledding and kickboxing.

The club has also become a network where business owners, firefighters, surgeons, city workers, and even the deputy mayor, Michael Burns, meet each other. Right now, there are about 50 members, and usually 15 to 20 people join the Saturday runs.

“We want like-minded people,” Pinkins says. “We have a section in our group chat for bartering and trading. People can advertise their businesses and services.”

For Pinkins and Diaz, the discipline of running has a way of spilling over—showing up in the rest of their lives.

Pinkins opened the Cocktail Lab downtown, a space for hands-on mixology and private gatherings. Diaz runs CakeLani, turning out custom cakes and her signature cake cups for birthdays and weddings.

Both entrepreneurs credit the run club for providing them with a foundation to excel in their endeavors.

“I think it proves to people that they can be successful at things they may not have considered a year ago,” Diaz says. “People are waking up early instead of sleeping in. They’re showing up, running for 20, 30, 40 minutes—even in the winter. That discipline is hard to build, but once you start mastering it, doors open.”

The run club opens other doors, too.

According to LADbible Group’s LADnation Running Insights report, based on its 2024 LADnation Survey, 72% of Gen Z respondents said “meet new people” was a main reason they would go to a run club.

“It can be better than dating apps because you meet people face to face,” Pinkins says. “Some people may join because they see attractive people in the group.”

But if meeting people becomes the only reason to show up, the focus can deviate.

“Some people ask if it’s co-ed or if there are good-looking people there before they even come,” Diaz says. “Joining with that intention isn’t good. But if something happens organically, that’s fine.”

The 1% Run Club recently became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to expand its reach in the community.

The challenge is keeping that close-knit feel, even as the mission grows.

“That has been a concern,” Diaz says. “Some members worry that if it gets too big, it changes the feeling. That’s part of why smaller dinners and hangouts matter. They help keep the tight-knit feeling.”

But if someone wants to run alongside them, Pinkins says, “what are we going to do—tell them no?

“Our group is full of great people,” he adds. “They’re hands-on, emotionally committed to their health, and tapped in with each other. If it gets more Black people running, I’m all for it. The bigger goal is getting people active.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Erika O’Nell Catalan’s name.

Rob Bell is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and former Democrat and Chronicle reporter, photographer and editor. He also produces and hosts “Plants & Beats,” a podcast exploring mindfulness, music and culture.