LYNN — The Lynn and Peabody group Running United is partnering with the YMCA of Metro North to raise awareness for the causes they run for.
What started as a way to stay active and get outside during the pandemic lockdown, Running United decided they wanted to dedicate their runs to a bigger purpose.
The members of the group now aim to run 100 miles a month to raise awareness for a given cause, which changes monthly.
Since April is Autism Awareness Month, the group is running their 100-plus miles to bring awareness to autism during the month.
“That’s what we push for — to raise awareness,” said Solice Reynoso, one of the original members of Running United.
To raise awareness for the cause, the group wears shirts with the cause on it whenever they run.
“Our outfits, when we run, are to raise awareness,” Reynoso said. “I ran a half marathon last year up in New Hampshire … and people come up to you at the end and they’re like ‘dude I was staring at the back of your shirt,’ because it is for autism awareness and somebody’s kid had autism, so they said it helped them finish the race… At the end when you cross the finish line, you help somebody more than you think and that’s an amazing feeling.”
The YMCA of Metro North will now be sponsoring Running United’s races and, in turn, the group will be doing promotions through social media to bring awareness to those races, some of which are hosted by the YMCA.
President and CEO of YMCA Metro North Kathleen Walsh said that after meeting with the crew from Running United it was obvious that the two organizations share the focus areas of youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
“We hope to work with Running United to inspire our young kids to become more active, set wellness goals and find that activity that brings you joy,” Walsh said. “Right now, we are talking about educational sessions, info tables for our members and potentially working together on an event in the area to engage the city in a movement initiative like running or walking. As a runner myself, listening to the crew talk about their motivation is the same reason I lace up every day.”
Running United member Leny Thomas said the group’s hope is to continue this relationship with the YMCA and be able to host and participate in more runs.
“We want to possibly do a marathon here within the surrounding communities, maybe based on the local YMCAs and a route that goes to each,” Thomas said. “The main focus for us is really mental-health awareness, obviously physical health as well, and showing not only the youth, but everyday people and the elderly, how important running and staying physically active is in helping your mental health… This partnership will be great in highlighting that.”
Members of Running United said they are grateful to partner with the YMCA to help get their name and their mission statement out there, as they are in the process of becoming an official nonprofit.
“It started as a way to just run and shed light on certain things, but it’s now becoming more of a movement,” Thomas said. “It’s tougher to make donations and host fundraisers without being an official nonprofit… So the collaboration with the YMCA is very helpful.”
As the group continues to grow and expand throughout the community, Reynoso said they have a lot of ideas for events in the future, including a fundraiser for Ukraine on the Lynn Commons.
“That’s one of our next major steps, because that’s going on right now, and we want to bring light to it,” Reynoso said. “We want to help as much as we can because that’s what we are all about.”
The first race the group will be collaborating on with the YMCA is a 5k on April 23 at Breakheart Reservation in Saugus.
Six members of the group are also training for a marathon in New Hampshire.
To learn more about Running United, visit them on Facebook and Instagram @Running UnitedNationwide.
