The group running scene in Philadelphia plays an integral role in defining the beautiful culture that is our running community. Each team, crew, and club is incredibly unique, which adds an assortment of rich layers to our city’s ever–growing active lifestyle. Our area is home to an active running community with over 100 running crews/clubs/teams. Whether you are new to running or have been logging miles for years, the Philly running scene has something for you.
We've started a new feature at Philadelphia Runner – Run Club Of The Month.
What You Do:
1. be a running group in the Philadelphia area
2. read each month's "Club Of The Month" post
3. be the first club to email brodie@philadelphiarunner.com after reading the post. The first club will be the next Run Club Of The Month (note: you can only win once)
Sound good? And without further ado, January 2025's Run Club Of The Month.....YAP (Young & Active Philly).
Written by: Sunny Goklani
How and when did the club start?
In 2020, Covid hit and I turned thirty. Both together made me reflect on life and ponder if I was spending my time and energy right. I tried to change my lifestyle to foster good habits but soon realized that the circle I knew wouldn’t carry over to my new habits. I had the choice to stay where I was with people I called friends then, or try to do what was good for me but be by myself… YAP was born so you would never have to make that choice.
Here’s a community where people will welcome you with open arms, where people are looking for connections and friendships – all while they inspire you to do your best and cultivate good habits.
What all do we do?
We organize 2 runs/a week, but we also do much more than running. We play tennis and pickleball, among other sports. We have been organizing 3 tennis leagues a year every year since 2021 and are also THE place to meet people to befriend to play tennis with in Philly! Beyond sports, we also organize trips (beach day, travel races, weekend getaways), and parties (Friendsgiving, birthdays, milestone markers, post-race parties, etc.). Come be a part of anything or everything you seek!
Who are our leads?
Sunny and Alena are our current YAP leads – who keep the ship running and set the stage for fulfilling our mission. With that said, we are lucky and grateful to have many community members step up to be event leads from time to time (for e.g. December was our guest lead month and all runs were organized by community members who stepped up and shaped their run). If you want to shape a YAP run and make it an adventure of your choice, come be a part of some runs and DM us to volunteer to lead!
What’s the vibe like?
Inclusive and Inspiring. We know going to a new social group isn’t easy. Forming a new habit isn’t easy. Stepping across your comfort zone isn’t easy. Our founding story is evident in our events as we set the vibe where you can make friends while not worrying about exclusive cliques and be inspired to stay active. If you’re a first timer, you’d feel at home as if you’ve always belonged here (at least that’s the vibe we strive for – and try very hard to foster! DM us if you ever don’t feel like it!)
How are our runs different?
We don’t do loops. We don’t end up in the same places. Our runs aren’t the same – in fact you’ll find it difficult to find 2 similar runs in almost 5 years of our existence. Every run is themed (examples: coffee run, ice cream run, race rehearsal runs, trivia run, birthday runs, our upcoming ‘Not so dirty’ run ??, etc.) and we don’t repeat them often. We run to explore – be it new connections, our city, new spots (bars and cafes), and hobbies – and our run themes reflect that intentional choice. We may be too unpredictable for you if you like a strict routine (be it pace or loops), but are ‘the place to be’ if you’re down to explore the city and try new things!
How often do we run?
We run twice a week. Sunday mornings 10 am from Rocky Steps (the classic YAP experience – exploring new cafes, bagelries, and pools) and Tuesday evenings 630 pm from Oval (the fun run experience – exploring Philly’s best sunset spots, coolest bars, best bar games, and great conversation).
We welcome all paces, share live location on WhatsApp group, and have regroup points along the way.
What’s the best place to keep in touch?
Instagram! @yap.philly has the latest and greatest on details of our events – we would love to see you at our events soon! Any questions? We are a DM away! ??
We do have group chats (for each activity/sport), links for all are also in our Instagram’s link in bio (just DM us that you’ve requested to join).
See you Soon?
I’d like to close with saying I truly believe what we’re doing here is incredibly unique and something I wish everyone had access to. You can truly be yourself, choose to stay active however you like (not just running) and find a community (not intimidating cliques) while exploring the best city on Earth (Philly, duh). With that said, we are what we are because of YOU runners, because we are YOU. We are Philly BORN AND RAISED, and are HELLA PROUD of it! Okay, will yap more hopefully at the next event.. see you soon <3
Sunny, thanks for taking the time to share more about YAP (Young & Active Philly)! If you’re looking for a new group to check out and run with, find more about YAP by following them on Instagram: @yap.philly
