Running and cannabis use have several similarities. They both challenge a person’s lung capacity, they both generally result in an increased appetite, and they can both be enjoyed indoors or outside.
Despite the overlap, the idea to participate in both simultaneously as a community is a relatively new concept. Chicago natives Anakaren Ramirez and Carlos Ramos, the founders of Runner’s High Run Club, became true trailblazers in both the running and cannabis communities when they created the nation’s first cannabis centric run club in June 2022.
Through a shared community, the group is attempting to “get lit, get fit and break the stigma that cannabis makes people lazy and unproductive,” according to Ramos.
“The whole lazy stoner trope is outdated,” Ramos said. “It’s incorrect, it’s not representative of who real cannabis consumers are.
“They’re family people, business people, professionals, community leaders. We have people from tons of broad spectrums of life and age groups and ethnic backgrounds, but we all share the common passion of a healthy and active lifestyle in tandem with our cannabis consumption.”
The concept of a cannabis-friendly running club came to Ramirez and Ramos after they bonded over their shared passions for both marijuana and running.
“It all started with me and Carlos getting to know each other through the cannabis industry,” Ramirez said. “We had this conversation of how cool it would be to start a 420 centric run club. Carlos likes to consider it a ‘high-dea.’”
Four years later, the two have fostered a community built around regular outings, headlined by the annual 420 Run, an event that recently attracted over 200 participants from at least six states.
Unlike their weekly casual outings, the annual celebrations include specialized gear and the presence of local vendors within the cannabis industry who provide free samples after the run. This year’s event looked slightly different, however, as the participants met first at Walsh Park on North Ashland Avenue for their run before taking a chartered school bus to a nearby dispensary, where the festivities continued in a more festive setting.
Fittingly, the run itself follows a 4.20 mile course, although there is a two mile walk option available for those who prefer a lighter workout. Instead of a ready-set-go start, this year’s run had a rolling start time, where the athletes were able to gather and converse in the nearby grass and consume their cannabis however they saw fit before ripping through the race.
Despite any athletes’ competitive inclinations, the purpose of the race is not to wax the competition and weed out the casual runners to crown a champion. In fact, there are no official times recorded, and while every racer is free to track their own progress on their personal fitness applications, each participant receives a medal at the event’s completion regardless of their results.
“It’s a fun way to come out, join the community and do something fun and also healthy during the holiday weekend,” said Corine Salgado, a first-time participant in the 420 Run.
Salgado has been a local budtender for the last two years, and while she is not an avid runner, she likes to use cannabis when doing so to get into a “more peaceful mindset.”
Like Salgado, marathon runner Flaco Navaja has worked out with the club several times, but competed in his first 420 Run this year.
“It’s a great group of people that are coming together to break a stigma and to stay fit and to be in community,” Navaja said. “It’s important to find your allies. It’s important to find your communities, people that are like minded that agree with you and that can help also spread the word to a population that may be kind of ignorant to what we’re talking about.”
The emphasis on community is one that is shared through many of the group’s members, and as that community has continued to grow, so has its influence.
In recent years, out-of-town participants have returned to their home states to start similar cannabis centric running groups, including the Garden Runners Club in Pennsylvania, who had multiple members present in Chicago for the 420 Run.
It’s apparent that a once small group of casual smokers and runners is blossoming into something much bigger with a stronger purpose, but the original message has not faded.
These are not lazy stoners who waste away, but a budding group of passionate athletes who are loud and united in their endeavor to change the way that cannabis users are viewed in the world of athletics.
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The DePaulia is DePaul University’s award-winning, editorially independent student newspaper. Since 1923, student journalists have produced high-quality, on-the-ground reporting that informs our campus and city.
We rely on reader support to keep doing what we do. Donations are tax deductible through DePaul’s giving page.
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