by RUNGRL Staff

The Fall RUNGRL Tour wrapped this past Sunday and our hearts are full of wonder and gratitude at all of the Black Girl Magic the ladies brought up and down the East Coast.

Initially, we set out on this tour to spread the word about RUNGRL beyond our home base of Washington, D.C. What we found, though, was that in sharing our RUNGRL vision of inspiration, information and celebration for the Black woman runner, we also got to meet and learn from some phenomenal women who care about healthy living and community support.

Ladies in Atlanta were excited to see one another as they warmed up for the morning run. Photo: Na’Tasha Jones for RUNGRL

RUNGRL co-founder Natalie Robinson learned from the tour that not every city’s running landscape is the same. “Some Black women who may want to run simply don’t have a strong, established community to help them do so. It really opened my eyes even more to the need for us to be present and visible in the sport,” said Natalie.

We kicked things off in New York, where the ladies had a brisk, cold run through Brooklyn. In Philadelphia, the ladies braved some nasty weather for a rainy run, but warmed up for a nice breakfast and convo after at OCF Coffeehouse. In Richmond, the group had a lovely view at the Riverwalk along the James River before sitting down to chat about diversity in races, local fitness programs and natural hair and skincare products. In Baltimore, a windy waterfront run brought everyone together before a coffee chat at Home Maid. To close out the tour, RUNGRL hit Charlotte and Atlanta on the same day, with each city getting blessed with sunny weather to make for an awesome run. Runners in Atlanta were especially excited about post-run brunch at Highland Bakery.

India Cook attended the final tour stop in Atlanta and shared her excitement in a post on Instagram. “Yesterday was amazing!” she said. “[RUNGRL] is forming an amazing community for African American ladies that are out here running the streets to be seen, heard and empowered.”

RUNGRL co-founder Dominique Burton’s favorite part was learning the new cities through running. “Meeting new people and running the streets of an unknown city made each tour stop fun and exciting,” she said.

Our intent was to meet up with ladies in each city for a nice run, but after each run, we found ourselves chatting about common health and fitness issues, such as our #MyRunningHair campaign addressing the relationship with Black women’s fitness and our hair, finding time to balance work and staying healthy, local running communities or lack thereof and much more.

Another tour highlight was checking out cool landmarks and important historical sites at our tour stops. “Each place that we visited has a unique history,” said Dominique, “Yet each group all seemed to have the same wants and drive to be more represented and highlighted more in the running community and the media for being out here and conquering these miles.”

Co-founder Na’Tasha Jones agreed that the bond with fellow runners was easy and immediate. “The most amazing part of it all is how so many different groups of women—most total strangers—could come together through the common ground of running and have such interesting and fulfilling shared experiences,” she said. “The inherent sisterhood of Black women is unmatched.”

View even more photos from the Fall RUNGRL Tour on the RUNGRL Facebook page.

What’s Next for RUNGRL

Now that the tour is done, we’ve got even more big things planned for 2019: More miles, more cities, more magic. In the meantime, be sure that you are subscribed to the RUNGRL newsletter, The Rundown, for all the latest updates and events news. Get special invites and discounts on and see what’s happening in a city near you.

What would you like to see from RUNGRL next? What cities should we visit in the new year? Share your comments and feedback in the comments below!

Did you attend the Fall RUNGRL Tour? We want to hear from you! Shoot us a message to tell us about your experience.