In the Community
2023 Y’ALL MEANS ALL PRIDE 5K RACE
RUNNERS DONATIONS ALLOWED US TO DONATE $2500 TO THRIVE YOUTH CENTER. Thrive Youth Center is a non-profit organization that serves the homeless LGBTQ+ community in San Antonio.
THRIVES MISSION is to provide a safe and supportive center for homeless LGBTQ youth, so they can become productive, skilled, educated, and successful adults with the opportunity to achieve their dreams.
At Thrive Youth Center, we are more than a shelter. In addition to
emergency shelter for youth coming directly off the streets, we provide:
Case Management
Benefits Assistance
Counseling
Career Counseling and Guidance
Life Skills Assistance
Education Support
Rapid Re-Housing
Y’all Means All 5K Race 6/11/22
We had a sold out race with 324 runners! We were able to donate $2230 to our friends at Fiesta Youth San Antonio.
More about Fiesta Youth: Serves LGBTQIA+ teens, young adults, and their allies. Our goal is to empower youth to build a future where ALL people are accepted, affirmed, and loved as they are. We create safe spaces for events, trainings, and programming that aims to support our youth and grow together as a community.
On the Run 5k on 8/28/21
raised $1100 for Girls On The Run Bexar County.
Carry Forward WWP 5k
2021
Our crew participated in the Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Carry Forward® 5K to provide life-changing programs for America's wounded warriors, and we need your support.
Thrive Youth Center Pride Run
You were able to raise $700 to help provide a warm meal and clean clothes to San Antonio’s homeless LGBTQ Youth. July 2021
Clube dos descalcos
You were able to help the barefoot run club in Brazil continue to run their program by donating $550. November 2021
ITLRC 5K supporting the SA Food Bank 2/26/22
We held our first ever 5K race with 271 registered runners. We were able to donate $800, 5,600 meals for the San Antonio Food Bank. Thank you to all who ran, volunteered, and supported!
Street2Feet-Shoe Donation 12/2021
Street2Feet is a walking/running 5k training program for individuals experiencing homelessness in San Antonio.
"Exercise, Community and Service as Medicine." - Street2Feet
Published: September 26, 2021
When COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the 5K runs and Spartan Races that Amy Hermes and her wife had come to love, they quickly went looking for a replacement.
Initially, the couple jogged on their own each Saturday, usually winding up at a local brewery to enjoy a leisurely drink after their workout.
Hermes, though, wanted some accountability to get her running more often, and she missed the social aspect of the events they’d frequented. She looked to neighbors first but soon decided to take her search online, and in December 2020 launched the In The Loop Run Crew.
Nearly a year later, the group has over 1,700 followers on Instagram and hosts four weekly runs that attract a group of around 35 who run together before grabbing local beer or coffee.
“It’s super chill,” Hermes says. “It’s people at any pace, even if you’re just walking or starting to run.”
On Mondays, they run from Roadmap Brewing Co., Wednesdays bring a sunrise 5K at Woodlawn Lake Park, Saturdays take the group to the LBJ Trailhead and Sundays are for running through Brackenridge Park. On Saturdays, the club splits up so those who want to run a 10K can tackle a longer route while the others complete a 5K. Afterward, they head to Theory Coffee Co. and often to Second Pitch Beer Co. On Sundays, Mila Coffee is the spot for an after-work out treat.
The group also has a mission of giving back. In June, it raised $700 for Thrive Youth Center and in August it hosted a fundraising run and raffle from Freetail Brewing Co. in support of Girls on the Run Bexar County.
Hermes says the group has provided the accountability she was looking for plus something the San Antonio native wasn’t counting on. “It’s hard to make friends as an adult, so it’s been kind of an unexpected surprise,” she says. intheloopruncrew.com
Voyage San Antonio Article
Hi Rosalee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In early 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic impacted everyone. As I am sure everyone recalls, a lot of gyms and fitness classes shut down and on top of that, not a lot of people were getting together even for socially distanced activities. I have always been very active, and I would occasionally go jogging but CrossFit was more my “thing”.
Our CrossFit box did its best to try and keep us engaged and exercising but it was not sustainable and eventually closed. I found that I ended up missing my fellow workout buddies and coaches more than the exercise itself. With the pandemic in full swing, we were working from home and trying to work out at home. As you can imagine, this combination became a bit monotonous. I needed to find an outlet that allowed me to get out of the house while staying safe.
My husband and I started running around our neighborhood to mix things up. It started out slowly with only a mile at a time. I kept at it and eventually started falling in love with running. Was this feeling I was enjoying that runner’s high I heard people talk about? Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, my husband did not fall in love with running and claimed that a runner’s high was either not real or made up by running companies! I enjoyed running on my own but some days I could feel my motivation to run waning.
After some time, I saw a post on Nextdoor by Amy who was interested in starting a neighborhood-run club. I figured this could be a great opportunity to continue pushing myself to run and meet a new group of people. I was a little nervous at first since I was not the strongest runner. Shortly after that post, we started running together regularly. Amy continued to grow the run club and soon we had runners joining us from all over the city. As she continued doing her thing, she began creating a brand for the run club, and within a few weeks In the loop, Run Crew was created.
We’ve been around for over a year and have raised over $2,000 for various nonprofit organizations such as Girls on the Run Bexar County and The Thrive Youth Center. We run together 4 times a week (Monday evening, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday Mornings). We are a group of all people. Runners, walkers, beginners, and advanced.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Just like any new concept, there have been some bumps in the road here and there. Nothing major, mostly logistical. The group began growing rapidly and it soon became apparent that this was going to be bigger than just a handful of neighbors going for an occasional jog.
The group needed regular meeting times and locations, coordinating routes, and an organized way to communicate to current and prospective members. And all of this during a global pandemic! So, they were more evolutions than road bumps.
Honestly, we’ve been fortunate to have such a great community and many amazing sponsors that have helped us along the way.
Attending races, hosting 5Ks, non-running social events
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The Loop Run Club is certainly not the only running group in the city. We are known as a very welcoming run group. The most important part of the group is its ethos.
The group has people in every stage of their running journeys— from people who can run over 20 miles without thinking twice, to people who have never gone half a mile without stopping, and everything in between. It’s great seeing some of the experienced runners help novices with questions on everything from shoes to technique to motivation.
You will always find someone who will be your run buddy stay and walk with you, and at the end of each run, you will have the whole group waiting for you. We show our support and run or even volunteer at a lot of other community 5ks. We raise money for organizations in our community by hosting 5ks. Running can be a very vain sport to some people, but for us, it’s more of a sport we enjoy doing together.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
It doesn’t take a lot of money or resources to make a difference in other people’s lives. Running is more than the miles you have covered or how quickly you move.
The Loop Run Club is about more than just running. It’s about the impact you make on the community and the impact you make on each other.
Contact Info:
Website: https://www.intheloopruncrew.com/
Instagram: @Intheloopruncrew
Facebook: In the Loop Run Crew