An army of five hundred stampedes up the back of the Jefferson Boulevard bridge, shadowed by the beaming setting sun. The Oak Cliff Run Crew (OCRC) is on their regularly scheduled Thursday night run.
Communal running is growing exponentially, the OCRC witnessed a 400% growth in participation in just the last few months, according to one of the founders, Patrick Kleineberg.
“There’s a running boom right now,” Kleineberg says. “We’re definitely benefiting from that at this time.”
Participation in 2023 averaged at 78 runners each Thursday. He was excited when 100 runners showed up for the first time in January. Now, he and his co-founders manage a group five times that size.
The crew started as four friends who met in a cafe, and it remained a quartet, give or take the random friend-of-a-friend, for the first year. “Four of us to more of us,” as their mantra goes.
Growth, though initially slow, was the goal from the get-go. The founding four, all with extensive backgrounds in long-distance running, knew they needed their crew to be as accessible and inclusive as possible.
“When people come and they don’t have much of a running background, they actually feel like they are welcome and not judged,” Kleineberg says. “There’s so many people that can be intimidated by showing up to a running group.”
Crew is an important verbal distinction, the slight but unique detail certifies OCRC’s intention and solidifies them as the only running organization of the like in Dallas.
“I would like it to be about not only the community, but having an emphasis on how we do things to create that culture,” Kleineberg says. “What is really the depth of that culture other than just saying, show up and come run? Let’s build something that not only we can be proud of.”
Diversity is an integral component of the run crew.
“Everyone’s welcome here, all faces, all races,” repeats Kleineberg, it’s another of the crew’s mantras. “When you get to our runs, you see that and you feel that.”
The crew, centered in the minority-majority neighborhood, aims to offer running opportunities to the often excluded community. Kleineberg’s greatest goal is getting Oak Cliff on the Dallas Marathon route.
The race notably excludes the largest neighborhood in Dallas proper, at 71 square miles.
“We try to take that as a little nudge to us,” Kleineberg says. “They say they put the most beautiful parts of Dallas on the route for the marathon. They don’t come to Oak Cliff at all.”
The Dallas Marathon is a big deal for the OCRC. The crew is showing up strong, preparations have already begun for the December race. Kleineberg hopes well-designed matching shirts, mass community presence and prominent racers will draw attention to their home.
The OCRC has some of the top racers in Dallas. One member, Kara Farroni, qualified for the Boston Marathon in her first ever marathon in December of 2023.
Farroni joined the OCRC, with limited experience in long-distance running, a year and a half before the qualifier.
“Throughout the race there were so many cheering sections,” Farroni says. “We all met at the finish line and immediately people were congratulating me. Even since then everyone has been celebrating and I feel so much love. I’ve never gotten this much attention in my life.”
The crew has blossomed dozens of runners from the couch, a testament to the power of their inclusive culture. They encourage anxious newbies to join the army for a Thursday run.
Kleineberg admits that city sanctions were initially a concern. The sizable group paces through busy roads two hours past rush-hour. They find the infrastructure supports them, and the city has yet to step in.
The trails of Uptown and White Rock Lake don’t appeal to the group, who are happy to stay exactly where they started.
“We love Oak Cliff, and we have brands and vendors that ask us to do things outside of Oak Cliff,” he says. “We’re reluctant to do that because we want to bring everything back to this community.”
As for the mass boom in running, the recent influx is due in part to a social media trend that pushes the social exercise as an alternative to dating apps. While the run crew welcomes newcomers and appreciates the attention, the OCRC insists they are not your dating app.
“We can’t forget that the run comes first,” Kleineberg says. “If you’re coming for this intention of, ‘I’m going to go here and be on the lookout for who can I hook up’ that’s not what we want our culture to be, and that’s not what we allow it to be.”
If the numbers dip, and the trend dies, Kleineberg says the OCRC will still be running.
“You’re going to hear us coming because we’re here and we’re not going anywhere,” he says. “This is our city, and we want to be the best running crew in the city.”
The Oak Cliff Run Crew meets every Thursday at 7 p.m. at 1406 N Zang Blvd. Their routes range from 2.3 to 3 miles and loop down Jefferson. Longer runs are held on Sunday mornings for the more experienced. All runners are welcome.
