Health. Friendship. Community pride.
Those three ideas have driven the growth of J-Town Running Club since it was founded in 2021. What started with two runners looking for a local running community has turned into a welcoming group where friendships develop, goals are met, and residents find new reasons to take pride in Joliet.
The club was founded by Beatriz (Betty) Soto-Grimes and Brenda Noriega, shared a passion for staying active and connecting with others through running.
Brenda recalls meeting Betty shortly after she moved to Joliet.
“I met Betty when she moved out here to Joliet in 2018. Her husband introduced us, and we started running together, and that was the first time that I really had someone that I could train with long distance and run and feel safe with.”
For Betty, those runs marked the start of something new: friendship.
“I was trying to make new friends because I came from Chicago. I had no friends here,” Betty said. “Everybody that we’ve become friends with, I met through the running community because I literally had to start over and make new friends.”
During their runs, they often revisited the same question. Why were they driving to different cities and towns to train when a city the size of Joliet surely had other runners looking for a running community?
“We eventually got to the point where we were asking, ‘Why isn’t there something here locally?’ Brenda said. “We Googled, searched Facebook, and I thought, there’s nothing here.”
Instead of continuing to travel to neighboring communities, they decided to create the club they wished existed here in Joliet.
“We said, well, let’s see what happens. There have to be other runners. We can’t be the only ones in this city.’ And it turns out we weren’t, and that was awesome.”
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As membership increased, J-Town Running Club expanded beyond what its founders had envisioned. Both Betty and Brenda acknowledge Diana Viveros for helping to fuel that growth.
“Diana is so creative,” Brenda said. “She’s so creative with the themes and with hyping people up and making it feel like it’s an event that you’re going to miss out on if you’re not there. She brought a lot of that energy to the group, and Betty and I were like, wow, this is awesome. It’s actually evolving into what we had hoped it would.”
Members started taking part in themed runs related to holidays, local celebrations, and traditions. Diana said the events provided people with something enjoyable to anticipate while fostering connection.
“I just try to find something that was in theme of the month,” Diana said. “It’s something fun. I noticed some people were shy about participating, but others found it exciting. It was just something to look forward to while being in the community.”
The themed runs quickly became one of the club’s signature traditions. While many of the themes were designed simply to bring people together, others offered opportunities to celebrate the cultures that make up Joliet’s community.
One of the club’s most memorable events was its Day of the Dead run, which celebrated a tradition deeply rooted in the Hispanic community.
“The Day of the Dead run is something that’s very culturally relevant in Joliet because we have a large Hispanic community,” Brenda said. “Even people who aren’t Hispanic still wanted to join us, learn about the culture, learn about the holiday, and they had the opportunity to honor a loved one in a way that maybe they hadn’t honored them before.”
The J-Town Running Club has become a place where people from different backgrounds can come together, learn from each other, and form meaningful connections.
That inclusive atmosphere has drawn runners and walkers of all experience levels, including those who once thought they didn’t belong in a running club.
Todd Lewandowski, the weekend run leader shares how he began with the club.
“I had never run more than half a mile in my entire life,” Todd said. “I was so intimidated because the only exposure I’d had to runners were the people on the trail who had entire fits and gear and were super fast. So, I was surprised that when I came to the run club, everyone looked like me. I never felt out of place, and it gave me the perfect environment to fall in love with running and build great friendships all the while.”
The club’s encouragement has motivated many members to reach goals they once thought impossible.
Liberty was one of them. She joined the group as a walker and, with encouragement from fellow members, trained for and completed a marathon within a year.
Stories like Todd’s and Liberty’s have become common as members support one another, share training advice and celebrate milestones together.
According to Brenda, in the past two years alone, the club has had at least 20 to 25 first-time marathoners runners. They joined the group, and then they decided to run the Chicago Marathon.
While some members gained confidence and achieved new fitness goals, others found something equally meaningful: friendship.
Jose Sanchez, the weekday run leader, shares how his friendships formed through training runs with a fellow member.
“A club runner Joe is one of those people who reached out and was like, ‘Hey, does anyone want to run at this time?’ So I was like, ‘Oh, great. Yeah, let’s go. The more we got to talking, the more we saw we had similar goals. Like, hey, I’m trying to hit this time. I’m training for this race. It’s like, let’s go, let’s keep it up. We push each other to hit these distances and paces.”
Brenda pointed out that Jose and Joe’s friendship is unique because there are generational and cultural differences there.
“Had it not been the run club, would they have ever connected outside of this? Being able to use that commonality to build a relationship is just incredible to watch,” says Brenda.
Those relationships have also introduced members to new experiences and cultures, often continuing long after the runs are finished.
Building friendships have become one of the club’s defining characteristics. The sense of belonging is extended to all.
“I always point out that I just met everyone I know, here in the run club,” Betty said. “Even if they might have known each other in high school, through passing, we all connected here. It’s not clicky. It’s not exclusive. It’s a community of runners who are just trying to reach their goals.”
Over the years, members have explored trails across the city, supported local businesses, and encouraged participation in races and community events. Many runners have developed a deeper appreciation for Joliet.
As J-Town Running Club continues to grow, its leaders hope the impact reaches beyond organized runs and race-day accomplishments. For Brenda, the club has always been about building a stronger, more connected community.
“Overall, we want to see more people walking the sidewalks. We want families outside together, being healthy,” Brenda said. “We want people to feel safe in the community. My hope is that it helps build tolerance and more kindness among us, despite some of the differences we might have, cultural, generational, political, or otherwise.”
“I want to create a healthy community for my kids because we live in Joliet,” said Betty. “We want our neighbors to be healthy, and their children to be healthy too. A healthy neighbor creates a healthy neighborhood.”
For all the miles run, races completed, and friendships built, members say one tradition best shows what J-Town Running Club is all about.
“We all wait for everyone to finish,” Betty said. “We all wait for everyone to finish and clap when they come in.”
In many ways, this simple tradition captures everything J-Town Running Club stands for, a community where everyone belongs and every achievement is celebrated.
For more information on J-Town Running Club join their Facebook Group.
