If you’ve seen 200 20-somethings run past you on KC’s Country Club Plaza, here’s why
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Jacob Bentzinger started Kansas Run Club for the same reason most join: He wanted more friends.
Even today, the club is less about the running, more about the people. Bentzinger himself will tell you that.
Running “is not something that comes naturally to me,” he admitted to The Star, adding, “I’m a runner for the community. I’m not trying to smash any records.”
At 25, Bentzinger is part of a solitary bunch. According to a 2023 Gallup poll, 1 in 4 young adults under 30 report feeling lonely “a lot” during the day, compared to 17% of adults of all ages. Psychologists point to a range of reasons: social media consumption, relocation, etc.
But Bentzinger says Generation Z and younger millennials are missing the benefits of “third spaces” — places outside work or home to socialize.
To the 200-plus people in their 20s and 30s who gather outside the Lululemon every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., that space is run club.
“This is an area we used to get in high school, that we used to get in college, ” Bentzinger said. “I know specifically young people are desperate for a community that isn’t the bars.”
On this Wednesday evening, a few shoppers walking down Nichols Road shoot quizzical glances as the crowd of water bottle-wielding young adults multiplies.
Bentzinger shakes the hands of new members of the club, which seems to grow each week. Over a year ago, he never would’ve guessed that run club would balloon to this size.
To overcome the roar of voices, Bentzinger picks up a megaphone and announces the start of the club. (A good 10 minutes after the club’s designated start time — young adults typically need a few extra minutes to arrive.)
“Hey, everyone! … Everyone say, ‘Hi, Kansas City Star!” he chirps as the runners whoop and holler at a reporter and photographer.
As an official sponsor of the club since October, Lululemon holds a giveaway at the beginning of the meeting. Runners who sign up for the run at the link in Kansas Run Club’s Instagram bio are entered into the raffle.
(It’s a pretty sweet deal, one club member tells The Star. His friend got a new pair of shoes. Nice ones.)
The course changes week to week, but the length never does. Tonight, he explains, they’ll run around Mill Creek Park, past the Nelson-Atkins, and loop back. A modest 3-mile run.
Like many, Bentzinger began running during COVID, but doing it by himself became a drag. And having moved back to Kansas City from Colorado, he found himself wanting community.
So, he started posting about his runs on social media:
“Running at this time, at this place. Anyone wanna join?”
Friends started reaching out, then strangers. Bentzinger created a social media account for the club in August 2022, and by the next April, Kansas Run Club had an official sponsor and meeting place.
Back then, REI in Overland Park hosted the runs, promising to draw even more people.
Dozens of people were signing up for Bentzinger’s running community each week, but he wanted room for a bigger group. Once the run club moved to Lululemon in October, things took off. (Yes, the Kansas Run Club now meets in Missouri.)
Joey Holley, 26, has been a member since the REI days. Moving to the Plaza has attracted young adults who live in apartments nearby. Many found out about the club by peeking out their windows and seeing a blur of runners racing past.
Even more found out about it through its Instagram page, which has over 6,200 followers.
Some would-be clubbers desire friendships, but they’re skeptical about the running aspect. No worries there.
“It’s just a really good time. Running is honestly super intimidating,” Holley said. “Everybody is super chill. … We have people who run fast and people who run slow.”
Bentzinger said they’ve even added a walking division.
Once the run starts, the quick-footed folks lead the pack. Toward the back are the talkers, who jog at a breathable pace and chat with the people around them. “What’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do for work?”
Families on the patio of Cheesecake Factory wave and smile as runners pass.
A few dogs jog beside their owners.
At the end of the run, Martinique Lamb, 34, gestured to a group of five people circled outside Lululemon. She met them all a few months ago, after joining the club.
“I love seeing them,” she said. “I look forward to it. I used to be a two-mile gal.”
While Lamb isn’t training for a race, her friend, 22-year-old Lucy Crum, is gearing up for her second marathon.
“Hopefully I’ll be less dead at the end,” Crum joked.
Like Lamb’s friend group, run club is a healthy mix of devoted and less serious runners.
“This is all runner types. … Come for the community, come for the people. I don’t want the run to be the intimidating part,” Bentzinger said.
Sweaty and tired from the workout, a chunk of the runners plan to continue their conversation at a nearby bar. The drinks afterward are a regular thing, but the venue changes. Today, they’re headed to The Granfalloon.
On the way, men and women mingle and swap stories about their runs.
That’s another perk of the club.
“When dating apps aren’t working, run club is,” Bentzinger said.
