Endorphins Miami, a run club in 11 cities across the United States, recently found a good rhythm in South Florida for weekly runs.
“One of my goals is to reach out to the community that don’t have a core run group,” said Josh Gelman, a Miami leader of the club. “We will have runs in different locations and partner with different initiatives and universities in their respective areas, but still have our steady weekly group runs on Mondays and Saturdays in downtown Miami.”
Tyler Swartz started Endorphins in New York City after the pandemic. Since then, the club hosts running events in multiple cities including Boston, Washington, D.C., Dallas and Los Angeles.
After opening their fifth or sixth location, Gelman believed he could host Endorphins in Miami. He realized there was no strong core running group in Miami, and Endorphins would be suitable with their energetic personas.
“We could fit Endorphins into the existing running offerings in Miami and try to do our own unique thing and create positivity, solid runs, and have a strong core group,” said Gelman.
Gelman, along with Claudia Rodriguez, Juju Vicente, Emily Suarez and Paige Geleika, were among the first to run the South Florida edition of the club.
Born in Broward County but raised in South Florida, Gelman frequently drove to Miami for extracurricular activities, such as sports and outdoor activities.
“I have a strong attachment to Miami and am culturally aware of everything that goes on in South Florida,” he said.
Endorphins are looking to collaborate with Florida International University students. The run club will join the Panthers Run Club to broaden its expansion and empower happiness through movement and exercise.
“We want to let everybody participate in our events because we have the Chicago Marathon and New York City Marathon coming up,” said Gelman. “Most people do stay in the tri-county area after graduating. We will try to offer them something fun to do around campus.”
Miami’s demographics are college and postgraduate students. Unlike New York City, Boston and Pittsburgh, most of Miami’s communities are younger students.
“If you go to Brickell Run Club on a Tuesday, I see the same demographic that the other Endorphins’ cities have,” Gelman commented. “For some reason, our guests are in their late 30s, 40s, or even 20s and don’t have a network of friends.”
Some students need the experience to enjoy running. Many schools have running clubs, but not all are inclusive or run at times that could be better.
“I want to create, build and welcome all young people, whether to create happy hours, social events and more,” said Gelman. “I want those people to have a home where they can come to work out and have a good time.”
Since April 7, 2024, the New Balance Run Club has sponsored Endorphins. It currently offers the community raffle gift cards and merchandise throughout multiple runs.
“It is not about us receiving something but giving,” said Gelman. “This past week, for the 5th Avenue Mile, New Balance awarded bibs for races and free entry fees for many races.”
The run club generally averages about eight to ten guests attending its events. The key to success in Endorphins is not the number of people attending but the quality of the people.
“If you focus on the right things and your driving force is in the right place, people will want to be there. They’ll see that it is a genuine positive environment,” Gelman said. “We want people to come and have a good time together. Endorphins’ mission statement is spreading positivity and happiness through movement and exercise.”
