Kansas City’s running clubs are the network of membership clubs, run crews, trail groups, affinity communities, brewery run clubs, and running-store group runs that make up the metro’s distance-running scene across both the Missouri and Kansas sides. The scene is anchored by long-standing nonprofit clubs founded between the late 1970s and early 1980s — the Kansas City Running Club (1978, also operating as the Kansas City Track Club), the women’s KC Express (1982), and the Olathe Running Club (1980) — alongside the regional umbrella Mid-America Running Association (MARA), the elite Kansas City Smoke (2002), and a newer generation of social “run crews” and brewery clubs (the Plaza/lululemon-based Kansas Run Club, 816 Run Collective, Percheron Run Club, Vine Street Brewing) plus affinity groups such as Run It BlaKC (2024), Kansas City Frontrunners & Walkers, and Black Men Run – Kansas City. Group runs gather year-round at recurring spots including Loose Park, Mill Creek Park, the National WWI Museum & Memorial stairs, the Crossroads, and brewery taprooms.

Scope and definitions

This page indexes clubs and recurring group runs — ongoing communities runners can join — across the KC metro. It distinguishes them from race series and events (Trolley Run, Hospital Hill Run, the Heartland 39.3 Series, KC Corporate Challenge), which are listed separately at the bottom as community hubs rather than clubs. A handful of entries on the metro’s western/Kansas edge (Lawrence-area clubs) are included with a note, since they draw KC-metro runners.

Inclusion does not require a website. Many of KC’s most active clubs are organized primarily through Instagram or Facebook rather than a traditional site — Kansas Run Club, Run It BlaKC, Black Men Run, November Project, She Runs This Town, the KC Trail Nerds, and others are social-media-led, and they’re listed here on equal footing with the older website-based nonprofits. The bar for inclusion is that a group is an identifiable, currently-active running community with at least one citable source (official channel, press, or store/venue listing).

Two naming clarifications worth stating up front, because they recur in local guides:

  • The Kansas City Running Club and the Kansas City Track Club are the same organization (it operates under both names).1
  • There is no club called “Heartland 39ers.” The real entity is the Heartland 39.3 Series, a three-race half-marathon series — see § Race series & events.2
  • “Kansas Run Club” (KRC) ≠ “Kansas City Running Club.” The Plaza/lululemon Wednesday social club founded in 2023 is Kansas Run Club (now under the States Run Club brand) — a different organization from the 1978 nonprofit Kansas City Running Club above, despite the near-identical names. It’s commonly miscalled the “Kansas City Run Club”; listed under § Run crews, social & brewery clubs.3

Governing / umbrella organization

Mid-America Running Association (MARA) — the metro’s long-standing running-community umbrella association, best known for maintaining one of the Midwest’s most comprehensive race calendars and publishing the Master Pieces newsletter; offers running-store discounts to members. Based in the south metro (Raymore, MO area).4 (Founding year.)

Established membership clubs

  • Kansas City Running Club (KCRC) — a.k.a. Kansas City Track Club. Founded 1978; the metro’s flagship general-membership road/track club — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and RRCA/USATF member for adult and youth runners of any pace. Free daily group runs metro-wide (Northland, Blue Springs/Independence, Overland Park, Shawnee, Loose Park), free Wednesday-night track workouts, beginner-5K classes, and half-marathon training.1
  • Kansas City Smoke. Founded 2002; a USATF Elite Development Club for emerging-elite and post-collegiate distance runners (Open and Masters teams) in the Missouri Valley Association. Athletes have qualified for U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials (2004, 2008) and the men’s team won the 2008 USATF Club Track & Field National Championships.5
  • KC Express. Founded 1982; a women-only nonprofit running and walking club with separate run/walk groups, training groups, monthly speaker meetings, and an annual Mother’s Day 5K. Saturday runs from the Filling Station (McGee St) and walks from the Prairie Village Shops.6
  • Olathe Running Club. Founded 1980; a Johnson County (KS) general club — a Kansas 501(c)(3) nonprofit and RRCA affiliate for all abilities, walkers to marathoners. Wednesday-evening and Saturday-morning group runs.7
  • KC SMART Runners. (“Saturday Morning Area Roads and Trails.”) Began as a run group in May 2020 and incorporated as a club in December 2021; a Northland (Liberty/Zona Rosa area) 501(c)(3) nonprofit and RRCA member for all levels. Saturday-morning runs near Zona Rosa.8
  • Roadrunners of Kansas City. An Overland Park-based, long-run-focused club known for supported Saturday long runs with mapped routes and aid stations every ~2 miles; all paces, dogs welcome. Active since at least 2012.9 (Founding year.)
  • Lawrence Trail Hawks. Founded 2009; a trail/ultra club for the Lawrence, KS area (western edge of the metro’s reach) — an RRCA affiliate and 501(c)(3) that stewards Clinton Lake and Kansas River trails and hosts trail races.10 (Lawrence/Douglas County — included as a metro-edge club.)

Run crews, social & brewery clubs

  • Kansas Run Club (KRC). Founded April 2023 by Jacob Bentzinger — a social-first, all-paces club that has become arguably the metro’s largest (~200–300 runners a week). A ~3-mile Wednesday-evening (6:30 PM) run gathering at the lululemon store on the Country Club Plaza (401 Nichols Rd), looping the Brush Creek / Nelson-Atkins corridor, with a bar social afterward. Began as the founder posting his run schedule on social media; now operates under the multi-state States Run Club umbrella. Often colloquially called the “Kansas City Run Club” — distinct from the 1978 Kansas City Running Club and from 816 Run Collective (see § Scope).3
  • 816 Run Collective / 816 Run Club (Team 816). A large, inclusive community run club + coaching collective led by Coach Randy Taylor; lineage traces to a running-store club Taylor kept alive after the store closed in 2019. Its Saturday long run (gather 7:15, run ~7:35 AM) departs from Rochester Brewing & Roasting in the Crossroads and can draw well over 100 runners; the collective also runs the “816 Relays.”11
  • Percheron Run Club. One of the metro’s biggest social run clubs — a free ~3-mile Tuesday-evening (6:30 PM) run through the Crossroads from the Crossroads Hotel’s Percheron rooftop bar, with beer on the rooftop after; all paces.12 (Founding year.)
  • Vine Street Brewing Run Club. Launched by 18th & Vine-district brewery Vine Street Brewing — an all-levels progressive-distance run (Sundays at 6 PM, starting at a 2-mile loop and adding a mile each week) around the MLB Urban Youth Academy fields, with post-run beers at the taproom.13
  • River Bluff Run Club. A Thursday-evening (6:30 PM) 5K social run starting in the River Market area, with a pint discount after; listed in 2025 local running-club guides.14 (Official channel + founding year.)
  • November Project – Kansas City. The local squad of the national free, peer-led grassroots fitness movement (founded 2011 in Boston) — weather-proof workouts using the Liberty Memorial / National WWI Museum & Memorial stairs (“#stairsforbreakfast”), Wednesdays at 5:29 & 6:29 AM. Not a road-racing club but a core part of the running/fitness community.15 (KC squad start year.)

Trail running

  • Kansas City Trail Nerds. Founded 2000 by “Bad Ben” Holmes (who still leads it); a Kansas City, KS-area trail-running community centered on Wyandotte County Lake Park and KCK trail systems, family- and dog-friendly, with weekly training runs and a heavy monthly trail-race calendar (1 mile to 100K) and trail-maintenance advocacy. Its Facebook group runs to several thousand members.16
  • Lawrence Trail Hawks — see § Established membership clubs (trail/ultra, Lawrence edge).

Affinity & community groups

  • Run It BlaKC. Founded May 2024 by Najai “Jai” Southall — which KCTV5 characterized as “Kansas City’s first Black run club” (a framing worth noting alongside the older Black Men Run – KC chapter). “All paces and all faces,” marketed to the Black community and motivated by health-equity goals. Tuesday-evening and Saturday-morning (8 AM, MLK Jr. Park / Eastside) runs.17
  • Black Men Run – Kansas City. The local chapter of the national Black Men Run organization (founded 2013, Atlanta), encouraging health and wellness among Black men through running. Saturdays 8:00 AM at Mill Creek Park on the Country Club Plaza.18 (KC chapter founding date.)
  • Kansas City Frontrunners & Walkers. The KC chapter of International Front Runners (the LGBTQIA+ running/walking network; the name comes from Patricia Nell Warren’s 1974 novel The Front Runner) — started in the 1980s, free with no dues, all paces plus many walkers. Wednesday-evening and Sunday-morning runs at Loose Park (Apr–Nov) and Mill Creek Park (Nov–Mar).19
  • She Runs This Town – KC Metro (formerly Moms Run This Town). A local chapter of the national free women’s running network (founded 2010), coordinating via its KC-metro/Overland Park Facebook group.20 (KC chapter start year + current meet cadence.)

Running-store & venue group runs

These are well-established recurring community runs hosted by stores or venues (rather than standalone membership clubs):

  • Fleet Feet Kansas City (formerly Garry Gribble’s Running Sports, serving KC since 1984; now in the Fleet Feet family). Free weekly store group runs (e.g., Thursdays 6:30 PM at the Overland Park store) plus paid programs such as the “No Boundaries” beginner-5K series.21
  • The Running Well Store (KC + Lee’s Summit). Saturday-morning and weekday group runs from multiple locations, all abilities — walkers, strollers, and dogs welcome.22
  • Heartland Galloway (via Ad Astra Running). A local Jeff Galloway Run-Walk-Run training program (the walk-break method dates to 1974); beginner-friendly pace groups for 5K through ultra, anchored in the Lawrence/Heartland region (nearest Galloway option to KC proper).23

Race series & events (community hubs, not clubs)

Included for context — these are major running-community fixtures, but they are events/series, not clubs:

  • Heartland 39.3 Series — a three-race half-marathon series (Rock the Parkway, Garmin Olathe Half, Hospital Hill Run Half); finishers earn a combined-39.3-mile medal. Run by KC Running Company. (This is the real entity behind the mistaken “Heartland 39ers” club name.)2
  • CCVI Trolley Run — a certified 4-mile Waldo–Brookside–Plaza road race (38th annual in 2026), the largest fundraiser for the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired and one of KC’s oldest/largest road races.24
  • KC Corporate Challenge (KCCC) — an Olympic-style inter-company sports competition founded 1980, whose 5K/10K/half-marathon events are a major running-community fixture.25
  • Brewery Running Series – Kansas — a state-wide series of ~5K brewery fun runs (Kansas series established 2020); seasonal, with proceeds to local nonprofits.26

Sources

Verification pass 2026-06-02: all load-bearing founding-year facts spot-checked and confirmed against official sources (KC Running Club 1978, KC Smoke 2002, KC Express 1982, Olathe RC 1980, KC SMART 2020/21, Trail Nerds 2000, Frontrunners 1980s, Trail Hawks 2009, Trolley Run/KCCC, Heartland 39.3 as a series). Corrections applied: Vine Street day confirmed (Sundays 6 PM); Run It BlaKC “first Black run club” re-cast as KCTV5’s framing; “April”/“late” qualifiers dropped where the month wasn’t sourced. The items below remain genuinely unconfirmed (they live only on login-walled socials or MARA’s non-loading site) and are the page’s residual “ set.

  • MARA founding year — unconfirmed; MARA’s own site refuses connections and has no Wayback snapshots. Verify in a browser / a Master Pieces newsletter masthead.
  • Start dates still: Roadrunners of KC, Percheron Run Club, November Project KC squad (active by ≥2017), Black Men Run KC chapter, She Runs This Town KC chapter (+ current day/time), Fleet Feet/Gribble’s rebrand year.
  • River Bluff Run Club — only sourced to the 2025 Axios guide; no official channel located. Also disambiguate which River Bluff Brewing it’s tied to (St. Joseph MO vs the River Market KC location).
  • Kansas Run Club — exact staging pin (lululemon storefront at 401 Nichols Rd vs. the Mill Creek Park fountain one block over) and whether lululemon formally hosts vs. just partners with the club.
  • Seasonal meet times shift — store/venue runs (Fleet Feet, The Running Well), November Project, Black Men Run, and brewery clubs adjust days/times seasonally; re-verify before treating any specific time as canonical.
  • Additional leads to vet (not yet listed): KC FIRE Track Club, Johnson County Comets Track Club, U.S. Express Track Club (youth/Masters track), Running for Brews (possible KC chapter), CCS Running Club (Waldo / KC Bier Co.), JCC Running Club, Oak City Brewing run club (confirm in-market).
  • Scope decision — how tightly to bound “KC metro”: Lawrence-area clubs (Trail Hawks, Heartland Galloway) and the state-wide Brewery Running Series are included with flags; confirm the editorial boundary.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Kansas City Running Club — https://kcrunningclub.com/; RunSignup MemberOrg “KansasCityTrackClub”: https://runsignup.com/MemberOrg/KansasCityTrackClub; https://www.facebook.com/kcrunningclub/ — asserts: founded 1978; 501(c)(3), RRCA/USATF; free metro-wide group runs + Wednesday track + beginner 5K; operates as both “Kansas City Running Club” and “Kansas City Track Club.” ↩ ↩2

  2. Heartland 39.3 Series — https://heartland393.com/; KC Running Company https://www.kcrunningcompany.com/ — asserts: three-race half-marathon series (Rock the Parkway, Garmin Olathe Half, Hospital Hill Run Half) with a combined 39.3 medal; run by KC Running Company. (This series — NOT a club — is the real entity behind the mistaken “Heartland 39ers” name.) ↩ ↩2

  3. Kansas Run Club / States Run Club — https://www.statesrunclub.com/clubs/kansas-run-club; https://www.instagram.com/kansasrunclub/; founder welcome letter https://www.statesrunclub.com/blog/welcome-letter-from-jacob-bentzinger-founder-of-kansas-run-club; KCTV5 — “If you build it, they will come” (Aug 12, 2024) https://www.kctv5.com/2024/08/12/if-you-build-it-they-will-come-kcs-young-adults-are-stepping-up-community-leaders/ — asserts: founded April 2023 by Jacob Bentzinger; Wednesdays 6:30 PM, ~3-mile social run gathering at the lululemon Country Club Plaza store (401 Nichols Rd); ~200–300 runners/week; “largest running club in Kansas City”; now part of the States Run Club network (co-founders incl. Mary Payne, Joey Holley). lululemon Plaza store relocation: FOX4 https://fox4kc.com/news/lululemon-relocating-to-larger-location-at-country-club-plaza/. (: exact staging pin — storefront vs. the Mill Creek Park fountain one block over; and whether lululemon formally hosts vs. just partners with the club.) ↩ ↩2

  4. Mid-America Running Association (MARA) — https://www.mararunning.org/; corroborating listings: https://www.runningintheusa.com/details/59235 and https://localraces.com/clubs/raymore-mo/mid-america-running-association — asserts: regional running-community umbrella association; maintains a comprehensive Midwest race calendar + Master Pieces newsletter; south-metro (Raymore) base. (Founding year not stated; MARA’s own site did not load via automated fetch — verify in a browser.) ↩

  5. Kansas City Smoke — https://kansascitysmoke.org/ and https://kansascitysmoke.org/about-us/; https://www.facebook.com/KansasCitySmoke/ — asserts: founded 2002 (USATF Elite Development status 2004); Open + Masters; Olympic Trials qualifiers 2004/2008; 2008 USATF Club T&F national champions. ↩

  6. KC Express — https://kcexpress.org/ and https://kcexpress.org/the-club/ — asserts: founded 1982; women-only run + walk nonprofit; Saturday runs (Filling Station, 2980 McGee) + walks (Prairie Village Shops); monthly meetings; Mother’s Day 5K. ↩

  7. Olathe Running Club — https://www.olatherunningclub.com/; https://www.facebook.com/olatherunningclub/ — asserts: founded 1980; Kansas 501(c)(3), RRCA affiliate; all abilities; Wednesday + Saturday group runs. ↩

  8. KC SMART Runners — https://www.kcsmartrunners.com/ and https://www.kcsmartrunners.com/about/; https://runsignup.com/Club/MO/Liberty/KCSMARTRunners — asserts: run group started May 2020, formal club December 2021; “Saturday Morning Area Roads and Trails”; Northland (Zona Rosa) 501(c)(3), RRCA. ↩

  9. Roadrunners of Kansas City — https://www.roadrunnerskc.com/; https://www.facebook.com/roadrunnersofkansascity/ — asserts: Overland Park-based supported long runs with mapped routes + aid stations; all paces; active since at least 2012. (Founding year not stated.) ↩

  10. Lawrence Trail Hawks — https://trailhawks.com/; https://runsignup.com/MemberOrg/LawrenceTrailHawks; https://www.facebook.com/trailhawks/ — asserts: founded 2009 (site footer © 2009–); Lawrence-area trail/ultra club; RRCA affiliate, 501(c)(3); stewards Clinton Lake + Kansas River trails. (Exact month not stated on the site.) ↩

  11. 816 Run Collective — https://www.816runcollective.com/; https://www.strava.com/clubs/476947; https://www.instagram.com/816runclub/ — asserts: inclusive community run club + coaching led by Coach Randy Taylor; lineage from a store club kept alive after the store closed end of 2019; Saturday long run from Rochester Brewing & Roasting (2129 Washington St), gather 7:15 / run ~7:35 AM; “816 Relays.” ↩

  12. Percheron Run Club — https://crossroadshotelkc.com/explore/events/percheron-run-club-173/; https://www.exploretock.com/crossroadshotel/event/172388/percheron-run-club/ — asserts: Tuesday 6:30 PM ~3-mile Crossroads run from the Crossroads Hotel (2101 Central St); free beer on the rooftop after; all levels; “one of KC’s biggest social run clubs.” (Founding year not stated.) ↩

  13. Vine Street Brewing — “Lace Up and Let’s Run: Introducing Vine Street Running.” https://vinestbrewing.com/blog/lace-up-and-lets-run-introducing-vine-street-running; https://vinestbrewing.com/calendar — asserts: weekly Sundays at 6 PM (launch April 29 was a Sunday); all levels; progressive distance from a 2-mile loop, +1 mi/week; 18th & Vine / Urban Youth Academy fields; post-run beers. ↩

  14. Axios Kansas City — “Your guide to running clubs in KC” (Aug 12, 2025). https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2025/08/12/running-club-guide-kc — asserts: River Bluff Run Club — Thursdays 6:30 PM 5K from the River Market area, pint discount after; 2025 roster of KC run clubs. ↩

  15. November Project – Kansas City — https://november-project.com/kansas-city/; https://www.instagram.com/novemberprojectkansascity/ — asserts: local squad of the national free grassroots fitness movement (founded 2011, Boston); Wednesdays 5:29 & 6:29 AM at the National WWI Museum & Memorial / Liberty Memorial stairs. (KC start year not stated.) ↩

  16. Kansas City Trail Nerds — Strava club https://www.strava.com/clubs/145468; Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/36609881769/; UltraSignup race group https://ultrasignup.com/groups.aspx?gid=114; legacy blog http://kctrailnerds.blogspot.com/ — asserts: founded 2000 by “Bad Ben” Holmes (corroborated by Trail Runner Magazine + iRunFar); KCK-area trail community (Wyandotte County Lake Park); weekly training runs + monthly trail races (1 mi–100K); trail-maintenance advocacy. ↩

  17. Run It BlaKC — https://www.instagram.com/runitblakc/; KCTV5 — “Kansas City’s first Black run club is reshaping community narrative” (Aug 28, 2024) https://www.kctv5.com/2024/08/28/kansas-citys-first-black-run-club-is-reshaping-community-narrative-its-movement/ — asserts: founded May 2024 by Najai “Jai” Southall; all paces; Tuesday 6:30 PM + Saturday 8 AM (MLK Jr. Park). The “Kansas City’s first Black run club” line is KCTV5’s headline framing — Black Men Run – KC predates it, so it is attributed, not stated as fact. ↩

  18. Black Men Run – Kansas City — https://blackmenrun.com/blackmenrun-chapters/kansas-city/; https://www.instagram.com/blackmenrun_kansascity/ — asserts: KC chapter of the national Black Men Run (founded 2013, Atlanta); Saturdays 8:00 AM at Mill Creek Park on the Plaza. (KC chapter founding date not stated.) ↩

  19. Kansas City Frontrunners & Walkers — https://kcfrontrunners.org/ and https://kcfrontrunners.org/about-us/; International Front Runners https://frontrunners.org/ — asserts: LGBTQIA+ running/walking club, chapter of International Front Runners; started in the 1980s; free, no dues; Wednesdays 6:30 PM + Sundays 9:00 AM at Loose Park (Apr–Nov) / Mill Creek Park (Nov–Mar). ↩

  20. She Runs This Town (formerly Moms Run This Town) — https://www.sherunsthistown.com/; KC-metro chapter FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/OPKSSRTT/ — asserts: national free women’s running network founded December 2010 (Pam Burrus); local KC-metro chapter coordinates via Facebook. (KC chapter start + meet cadence not stated.) ↩

  21. Fleet Feet Kansas City (formerly Garry Gribble’s Running Sports) — https://www.fleetfeet.com/s/kansas/kc/runclub; https://www.fleetfeet.com/s/kansas/run-with-us — asserts: Garry Gribble’s serving KC since 1984, now in the Fleet Feet family; free weekly store group runs (e.g., Thu 6:30 PM, Overland Park) + paid programs (No Boundaries). (Rebrand/acquisition date not stated.) ↩

  22. The Running Well Store — “Group Runs in Kansas City.” https://therunningwellstore.com/group-runs-in-kansas-city/ — asserts: Saturday-morning + weekday group runs from KC + Lee’s Summit locations; all abilities, walkers/strollers/dogs welcome. ↩

  23. Jeff Galloway training groups https://www.jeffgalloway.com/training-groups/; Ad Astra Running — Heartland Galloway http://www.adastrarunning.com/heartlandgalloway; https://runsignup.com/Race/KS/Lawrence/HeartlandGallowayTrainingProgram — asserts: local Galloway Run-Walk-Run program (method dates to 1974) run by Ad Astra Running; pace groups 5K–ultra; Lawrence/Heartland-anchored. ↩

  24. CCVI Trolley Run — https://www.trolleyrun.org/ — asserts: certified 4-mile Waldo/Brookside/Plaza race, 38th annual in 2026; largest fundraiser for the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired. ↩

  25. Kansas City Corporate Challenge — https://kccorporatechallenge.com/ — asserts: Olympic-style inter-company sports competition founded 1980; 5K/10K/half-marathon among events. ↩

  26. Brewery Running Series – Kansas — https://www.breweryrunningseries.com/locations/kansas — asserts: state-wide ~5K brewery fun-run series, Kansas series established 2020; proceeds to local nonprofits; seasonal scheduling. ↩

See also

Categories
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