UMD Club Running strides toward a more active lifestyle.
By Vanessa Lim
April 14, 2026
Photo by Miguel A Amutio on Unsplash
The University of Maryland Club Running team promotes both physical activity and a strong sense of community.
Club Running provides an opportunity for runners at all skill levels to train together. The club meets Monday through Friday at 4 p.m., and participates in seven to eight track and cross-country meets every semester. They also have group bonding activities, such as trivia nights, about twice a month.
The club not only helps runners stay consistent with their fitness goals, but also creates a sense of accountability and connection that extends beyond just running.
“I really felt I found a good group of people that really supported my running endeavors,” said Sammy Joseph, a sophomore journalism student who joined Club Running his freshman year. “It motivated me to run even more than I was before and just helped me to stay in shape.”
Joseph said that in addition to scheduled practice five days a week, members also organize running challenges and small group competitions in their free time.
One of those challenges included a star competition where runners could earn a star by completing new routes or running the most mileage that week. These challenges encourage participation outside of the formal practices and competitions and help the runners to maintain consistency and discipline.
Club Running provides an opportunity for runners at all skill levels to train together. The club meets Monday through Friday at 4 p.m., and participates in seven to eight track and cross-country meets every semester. They also have group bonding activities, such as trivia nights, about twice a month.
The club not only helps runners stay consistent with their fitness goals, but also creates a sense of accountability and connection that extends beyond just running.
“I really felt I found a good group of people that really supported my running endeavors,” said Sammy Joseph, a sophomore journalism student who joined Club Running his freshman year. “It motivated me to run even more than I was before and just helped me to stay in shape.”
Joseph said that in addition to scheduled practice five days a week, members also organize running challenges and small group competitions in their free time.
One of those challenges included a star competition where runners could earn a star by completing new routes or running the most mileage that week. These challenges encourage participation outside of the formal practices and competitions and help the runners to maintain consistency and discipline.
Stars earned from the running challenges. Photo by Sammy Joseph
Sofia Volkov, a junior accounting and finance major who joined Club Running after transferring to UMD, said that before she joined, she felt unsafe running around College Park by herself and that joining Club Running alleviated that fear.
“It’s such a good community and it’s made me love running more,” Volkov said. “It’s been a good way for me to have an outlet at school that’s not just accounting and finance based clubs and on top of that I just feel safer and more supported running.”
Club Running is not just open to experienced runners and also welcomes beginners. While Joseph joined the club as an avid runner with previous track and field experience in high school, there are also members like Volkov who are newer to the sport. This range of experience allows members to learn from one another and progress at their own pace.
“I’ve learned so much more about running and I just feel like I’m learning more about myself too,” Volkov said.. “I actually really do enjoy running and branching out and making connections.”
“It’s such a good community and it’s made me love running more,” Volkov said. “It’s been a good way for me to have an outlet at school that’s not just accounting and finance based clubs and on top of that I just feel safer and more supported running.”
Club Running is not just open to experienced runners and also welcomes beginners. While Joseph joined the club as an avid runner with previous track and field experience in high school, there are also members like Volkov who are newer to the sport. This range of experience allows members to learn from one another and progress at their own pace.
“I’ve learned so much more about running and I just feel like I’m learning more about myself too,” Volkov said.. “I actually really do enjoy running and branching out and making connections.”