The first inaugural MomCo Run Club 5K happened at the Denver MOMCON on October 4th, 2024.
What’s better than running a 5K on a chilly Colorado morning? Running it as one of 200 moms from all over the country, most of whom you’ve never met in person. But these women have trained together for eight weeks, encouraged each other through hot summer days and injuries, and some even started out having never run before in their lives. Many had not run since having children and MomCo Run Club gave them a reason to get active again. With the MomCo Run Club Playlist in their ears and determination in their hearts, they trained through heat, illnesses, and injuries, many while pushing jogging strollers or with canine partners at their side (or both!). They showed off red-faced selfies and screenshots of their times, even sharing their slow days to urge each other to get out there and move even if it isn’t the day to PR. This newfound family of runners reached new milestones, ran more 5K’s, and built endurance together even when all they could do was jog up and down the driveway while the kids played in the yard. These women did what moms do: they got the job done when it was more difficult to get out and run than to just stay home and not. And they were rewarded when MomCo kicked off its first official 5K on the Friday morning of MOMCON in Denver!
The story doesn’t start there, though. Two years prior, at MOMCON in San Diego, Karla Merrell was a first-time attendee.
She had traveled there by herself and bravely stepped into a conference of thousands of women without knowing a single person. When she struggled to break into any of the well-established friend groups who had traveled there together, she almost left. Instead of leaving she went for a run and there she met a new friend that just happen to be also attending Momcon by herself. Together, they met a third. And the rest is history-Karla and Tina became “Momcon friends” and reunite every year since. Inspired by her new friendships, and after joining MomCo as a staff member a couple of months later, Karla was determined to organize a running meetup where moms could meet new people in a relaxed setting around a common goal: moving their bodies early in the day, make new friends and save a seat for each other in the main room.
One year later at 2023 MOMCON , Karla was leading MomCo members as they took over the sidewalks and streets of Chicago in the first unofficial 5K.
It was such a success that just posting an invitation to meet in the lobby and go for a run together brought 160 moms that morning to take Chicago by storm. Because of that morning, Karla’s dream of adding a 5K to every MOMCON came true with The MomCo Run Club.
The Run Club was also inspired by a very personal journey Mandy has shared about her brother Charley’s journey.
She has described him as one of the strongest people she knows. Just three months after he ran a 100 mile race, it was a scary experience to see him struggle through daily routines following a cancer diagnosis. But he was determined to pull through it, and that determination drove him to do things differently: continuing his training as an ultra-runner, lifting heavy weights, and refusing to give in and give up. The weekend before his major surgery, he ran a 50k and then endured, and recovered from, an extra long and very complex surgery. But less than 8 months later, against all conceivable odds, he completed another 100 mile race. Charley endured something that many people would not survive, and then not only lived to train but strived to encourage others. His story is more than inspiring. Knowing his story is to remove any excuse ever to quit.
Charley coached the MomCo Run Club through training for its first ever 5K.
He encouraged us, shared expert training tips with us, and gave his time with weekly coaching calls to see these women succeed and exceed their own expectations. Mandy says “he’ s my little brother, but I have looked up to him ever since we were young and I continue to be inspired by his grit”.
At this year’s MOMCON, joyful and tearful moms crossed the finish line and were met with cheers of congratulations from Mandy and a crowd of friends and staff who had come to see the race. The first-ever MomCo Run Club medal was placed around each of their necks. Among these women were fierce sprinters who finished first, casual runners who enjoy the course on a beautiful fall morning and, most inspiring, walkers who never dreamed they would finish the whole course.
What these women may not have known was that in addition to the 200 runners at the MOMCON course, over a thousand virtual members participated in ten different countries to join in from their hometowns.
They built teams, ran with a best friend, or completed the 5K alone – on tracks, trails, and even treadmills – and congratulated each other in the Run Club community for weeks afterward. And then they asked for more. Before the MOMCON trucks were even packed up and shipped back to Denver headquarters, MomCo Run Club was asking ‘what’s next?’. They continued to run, they trained harder, and they posted online about how they had found or reignited a passion for running.
MomCo Run Club is excited to announce the next chapter! You can look forward to themed 5K events in cities across the country starting in 2025, starting with the MomCo Coffee Run. Join us as we train and encourage each other in the new year and beyond – collect all the themes in your own medals, stickers and buttons and display them proudly! We’re proud of you, #MomCoRunClub. Happy Running!
Find your motivation with our playlist! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4uqVJvTfazYiQn7dpL6Ls6?si=BpbDLflSQkSdvqAvzllfLw
