Asian Girls Run was born through the desire to create a space for Asian women to feel supported, and that they have a place in physical activity.
Why was Asian Girls Run created?
Originally from the USA, I am also a wife, mother of three, entrepreneur, triathlete, & half marathon runner. My background is diverse; half Chinese (Grandmother from Hong Kong) and my father from Italian and Irish heritage.
As a personal trainer, I have worked with many clients, mostly women, stressing the importance of making time to look after your physical health, which in turn positively impacts our mental health.
After much experience in the industry, and between my own training in the gym and races in triathlon and marathons, two things occurred to me; there aren't enough women here, and there aren't enough who look like me.
I felt the minority gap for the first time and could physically see it in these places and, especially in larger fitness competitions and events.
I wanted to create a bigger impact by creating a space for Asian women to feel supported and have a place in physical activity, and Asian Girls Run was born.
How did you know what people wanted?
Asian Girls Run is a project very important to me. I received mostly support, but some push back, on creating something so uniquely targeted.
I created something in which I personally wished there had been a space for. I wanted a space where women like myself, from a similar cultural background could come together and feel supported to move physically and build community and friendships.
In my experience working with training clients, one of the hardest things for people is to stay consistent in exercise.
I have also learned from experience that if a friend of mine is going to be at a training or run, I will go to see them and enjoy it more. I decided to use this knowledge to build on the model of a successful community club.
I wasn't sure anyone would show for my first run club launch, but I was overwhelmed to have over 30 women register to run together. Many of these women in the club had expressed the very same feelings around having a space to feel comfortable in fitness, feeling supported at a beginner level with women that are just like them.
Feeling supported by similar cultures, allows women and girls to seamlessly connect and build friendships through physical activity. I introduced a cafe meet up after our run to further give a chance to solidify these budding relationships.
How did you promote your activities?
I took a targeted approach to marketing. Flyers were made and distributed around the local area, as well as meeting with the surrounding businesses to make contact and let them know about our club.
The biggest success was through digital paid ads targeted in our geographic area and shown to my demographic of women.
I also received some funding and support from my local council and had marketing shared out through them as well. Word of mouth has been huge as well as continually showing club activity.
Feedback and impact
I am very pleased that I found the Asian Girl Run Club, as this is my very first run club. My goal to join the club was to commit a healthy lifestyle, and these days I look forward to Saturday for run club and be with amazing girls.
I must say, I am privileged to be part of this community that supports and encourages whether you are a beginner or an experienced runner under the guidance of our very own qualified coach Jessica!
So far the highlight has been my personal achievement of completing 2.5 km without walk or Jog and felt like collective shared accomplishment as everyone was very supportive.
I would say if you have never been to a run club before, just take a small step and join the club.
How did you overcome barriers?
A barrier I have faced is having enough available support to lean on.
I feel confident to run the club alone, but as we grow, having someone to lead up the back, supporting our ladies who may have to walk, was really important to me.
I ended up leading the run, then would race to the back to support our ladies at a slower pace.
I am slowly building a more reliable volunteer base to group similar paces together. I always share about the importance of supporting each other, as it is something I want for all of the ladies to know the importance of.
What are your plans moving forward?
I have since appointed a few women as our run leaders who can lead the club in my absence. They are briefed on creating an engaging session, staying sensitive to everyones needs and making new members feel welcomed and supported.
We have recently received some community spaces for the next Royal Parks Half marathon, and have a few ladies training for this. It will be an excellent opportunity to showcase our club and amazing ladies at a larger event!
We continue to push boundaries encouraging our ladies to run further by introducing a monthly 5m run, or I will host a bodyweight fitness class for them as a change. I would love to offer them Yoga classes (highly requested) or a run space at our local track (many have never been).
Top Tip
Find what the greatest need is and embrace it. Listen to your community and be ready to adapt your plan to what they need.
Spend the time on the ground to get to know each other and make those meaningful relationships.
How does Asian Girls Run embody the action area 'Social'?
Although, I feel we embrace all of the four action areas, we are a social run club. By focusing on the social aspect, and building relationships and community through a fitness based programme, we are focusing on retention.
Women continue to show up for a run even if its to see their friends and have a laugh with our group. There is no pressure on speed or distance ran/walked.
We always meet up for coffee after our runs to ensure our ladies have a chance to further build meaningful relationships and strengthen the bonds of our club.
We have a club WhatsApp group, so we can all keep in touch during the week, which has also further made everyone feel supported and encouraged.