For those on campus looking for a way to both stay fit and reach out to the Raleigh community, a brand-new group of college-aged runners may be the perfect fit.
We Run the World is a women’s-centered wellness group that was founded in the spring by Mia Connell, a third-year studying sociology, and focuses on the development of a healthy lifestyle through running. In the few months it has been active, the group’s members have already been hard at work setting up meetings, scheduling events and planning out their bigger, long-term goals.
“Right now, our focus is on keeping up mileage, about two to four miles every time we run together,” said Heather Schriefer, a third-year studying plant biology, and current president of We Run the World. “Right now it’s just focused on college-aged women, but we also have Saturday community runs in different areas around Raleigh that can easily be accessed by members of the community.”
We Run the World, according to Schriefer, is inspired by and based on Girls on the Run, a nationwide program working to help younger girls be active. However, Girls on the Run requires families to pay a membership fee, a cost that many might not be able to afford. We Run the World, however, has no membership fee in order to make the group as accessible as possible, and provides young women with the opportunity for wellness improvement through running.
With meetings currently held twice a week, members are able to come together to set both running and lifestyle goals.
“For our practices, we usually have a route planned out that’s about two miles in length,” said Lauren Mathis, a third-year studying engineering and We Run the World’s current vice president. “We’ll warm up a bit, stretch, talk to each other a bit and then do our run.”
Since We Run the World is a newer group here on campus, outreach and efforts to gain new members have been central to the group’s growth.
“Currently, we’re trying to get a steady stream of members who consistently show up,” Schriefer said. “We realize that it’s hard when you have somebody who shows up for the first time running alongside people who have trained for marathons, and people who have been training hardcore. I don’t want those people who are coming for the first time to feel intimidated. So that’s one of our current goals — to make sure everyone feels welcome. We want people to be out running and being active.”
Even as the weather begins to collapse into the briskness of fall and the chills of winter, We Run the World is still holding strong. The group has planned to keep on running up until the end of November, with meetings picking back up in January after the start of spring semester.
“We meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. in Stafford Commons,” Schriefer said. “In inclement weather, we usually sign up for a group fitness class around the same time we would normally meet. We also do group 5K races, although we haven’t planned to do one this semester yet.”
According to Schriefer, one of the long-term goals of the group is to eventually host a 5K run on campus. They also have plans to join many of the 5K races held around the Raleigh area.
“We’re thinking about joining the Krispy Kreme Challenge as a group, so we’re currently trying to build ourselves up for it,” Mathis said.
Additionally, the group hopes to eventually reach out beyond NC State’s campus into the rest of Wake County.
“As of next semester our eventual goal is to pair up with elementary school girls, particularly those in 4th or 5th grade, and be able to mentor them and keep them active,” Mathis said. “I eventually hope to see our group as a well-established club that has good relationships with the surrounding elementary schools in the Raleigh area.”
Those who are interested are welcome to come to any of the group’s upcoming practices. For more information, contact We Run the World president Heather Schriefer at heschrie@ncsu.edu.
Members of We Run the World on Oct. 19 before going for a run. The organization meets twice a week and has a goal of promoting healthy lifestyles for women.
