Town Strides: Jogging around Lake Merritt gains traction
Joggers run on the path around Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. (Photo By Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, Calif. - It's trending on TikTok and becoming all the rage.
Town Strides, a grassroots group aimed at connecting Oakland "one stride at a time," is putting out viral videos of fitness lovers jogging around Oakland's Lake Merritt on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
And those videos are gaining traction as folks in The Town are spreading the word.
The founders are Ashley Hughes and Aziza Yaropa.
The two connected online and started talking about forming a run club, "which is more popular than dating apps right now," according to Hughes.
They wanted to make sure that their exercise program included a more diverse group, so they hooked up with Black Neighborhood, which focuses on hiking outdoors.
The first meetup was in May and had about 50 people.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Hughes said that 502 people had officially signed up to jog around the lake.
Hughes said that they are very pleased with their success and are working on getting a permit so they can sell merchandise.