Home Run

Ricky Hughes likes to say that the obstacle is the way. He just didn’t know one specific setback would completely change the course of his life.

A few years ago during the 2020 global health crisis, Hughes was struggling with depression and decided to start running. Not wanting to run by himself, and not knowing anyone else who enjoyed running, he tried joining a few different run groups in St. Louis. Often, he didn’t feel like he fit in. Typically, he was the only person of color, which was an isolating experience. And some run clubs seemed solely focused on speed — on one outing, the entire group took off at once and left him in the dust. The more he continued to run, the more he saw a need for a run club that prioritized community, diversity, and ability. 

As Hughes started to meet more runners throughout the St. Louis metro, his friends encouraged him to take the leap and start his own run crew. As a husband and father working full time, he didn’t necessarily feel like he had the bandwidth, but he somewhat reluctantly started St. Louis Run Crew, a community-based group open to all, in January 2023. Very quickly, it became evident how much St. Louis had needed it. Hughes began hearing testimonies from people who had started running for the first time and noticed improvements in health conditions such as asthma or diabetes. For many, the impacts were transformational.

“I started to hear other people say, ‘Ricky, this is changing my life. I love this. This is making me healthier, this is making me a better father, a better husband,’” he remembers. “That was the turning point for me — when I realized running was helping me to live a healthier and happier life, and there’s no price for that. When I saw that running was causing people to live a healthier and a happy life, including myself, I’m like, ‘This is it.’”

Today, St. Louis Run Crew brings dozens of runners from across the city to Downtown St. Louis to run together each week. The club features runners of different genders, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, ages, and abilities — some people walk, some bring strollers and some bring their dogs. “That’s where I think St. Louis had a mind of its own,” Hughes says. “Literally everyone is welcome. It’s the people’s crew.”

Every Sunday morning, the running club — which is free to join and open to anyone who’s interested — meets in front of the Runner Statue in Kiener Plaza for its signature “Sunday Runday.” (The crew meets at 10 a.m. in the winter, and usually 9 a.m. in warmer months.) While many friends encouraged Hughes to start his run crew in Forest Park or Tower Grove Park, he was bullish on running in Downtown St. Louis. He purposely wanted to run somewhere people might not expect and encourage people to get outside of their own neighborhoods. 

He sees the group as a way to show off St. Louis: St. Louis Run Crew started its runs at Kiener Plaza and now takes its runners all across the St. Louis metro area, from Ferguson, Florissant and North St. Louis City to South St. Louis.

“We have literally touched all over St. Louis,” Hughes says. “I think it’s just important to connect the city. Movement, in my opinion, is one of the most connecting tools that there is. You see St. Louis through a different lens compared to driving. Running, walking, and moving in other spaces allows you to see and feel the city in a different way. That’s why we’re St. Louis Run Crew — we run all over and walk all over St. Louis.”

While Hughes set out with the mission of making St. Louis Run Crew diverse, he wasn’t expecting the pull it would have for people who are new to St. Louis. Nearly half of the run crew are transplants from across the U.S., including California, New York, Indiana, Philadelphia, and Tampa. St. Louis Run Crew helps these newcomers get to know the city, but Hughes says the club is just as much of a learning tool to help native St. Louisans rediscover their hometown. 

“I am a little envious of someone being from out of town and experiencing St. Louis through St. Louis Run Crew because you’re seeing the best of St. Louis,” Hughes says. “You’re seeing a diverse community. You’re seeing folks that are like-minded and empowering and inspiring, and then you’re getting a tour of St. Louis. Now folks know if they’re Downtown or in South St. Louis or in Ferguson, if they want to get a coffee, they want to get something to eat, they know a familiar place, and that just makes you feel safe and welcome in your surroundings.”

Jordan Stone, one of St. Louis Run Crew’s captains, joined the club after moving to St. Louis from Tampa, where she led a run group. From the first moment she showed up to St. Louis Run Crew, she was struck by how welcoming and inclusive the group felt, which she notes isn’t always the case.

“There are a lot of run crews that say that they’re inclusive, but you show up and everybody’s going at like a 7:30 pace, and you might not be that fast,” Stone says. “Or there’s other groups that cater to newer or slower runners, but if you don’t fit into that group, you don’t really feel like you belong. I think that St. Louis Run Crew truly is inclusive in every sense of the word. We have people who run five- and six-minute miles and we also have people who show up and are pushing their strollers, walking their dogs, and then everybody in between. It’s also very inclusive in the sense of gender, race, socioeconomic status, age. We really do have a place for everybody.”

In addition to its signature Sunday runs, St. Louis Run Crew has also introduced a Saturday long run in Forest Park and a seasonal Tuesday evening run in the warmer months. Several runners who joined the crew as beginners have progressed into distance runners, and three members even ran their first half marathon earlier this year. Hughes is thrilled that so many people are experiencing positive effects from running, but he’s equally excited that St. Louis Run Crew has become a catalyst for community and relationship-building, with many runners turning into friends.

As word continues to spread and the crew attracts more members, Hughes is looking for ways to sustain and evolve St. Louis Run Crew, which is now a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Connecting with the community remains a key priority, and he’s excited to continue partnering with local organizations such as GO! St. Louis, the Gateway Arch Park Foundation, and Great Rivers Greenway to empower and inspire St. Louisans to get moving. In the future, he sees potential to work on programming with local schools.

Given how reluctant he was to start St. Louis Run Crew in the first place, Hughes is amazed at the way that kernel of an idea has evolved into what it is today. Running has changed his life, and he’s energized by the opportunity to help more people move and connect with each other. St. Louis, he says, gave him the encouragement and support he needed to chase that dream.

“St. Louis has given me personally the ability to recreate myself and follow my heart,” Hughes says. “I feel like in other cities you have to push to do a certain thing, with the hustle and bustle and the rat race of trying to climb up a ladder. In St. Louis, there’s an energy where you can go through life to the beat of your own drum. I think that’s what empowered me to be able to pivot and give myself the best opportunity to succeed. St. Louis gives you the foundation to create your own destiny. To be a part of something that I truly feel is changing the trajectory and the energy in St. Louis in real time is humbling.”