Glendale Runners Bringing Early Morning Miles to the Community

The Gap Nobody Filled Until Now

Most running crews in Southern California lean into the weekend. Long runs on Saturday mornings, social miles on Sunday, recovery shuffles when nobody has anywhere to be. The weekday morning slot, that unglamorous stretch between alarm and office, tends to go unclaimed. It was exactly this gap that Glendale Runners was built to fill. The crew launched in November 2024 with a straightforward premise: show up on Tuesday at seven in the morning, run 4.2 miles together, and get on with your day. No membership form, no fee, no complicated sign-up process. Just a meeting time, a start point, and two coaches who had decided that Glendale deserved something that did not yet exist. The observation behind that decision was practical rather than idealistic. Raziq Rauf, an author and certified running coach who co-founded the crew alongside coach Ezra Weisz, noticed that weekday morning run clubs were thin on the ground in Glendale. Weekend options existed in surrounding neighborhoods and across greater Los Angeles, but if you wanted to lace up before work on a Tuesday and run with other people, the options were limited. So instead of waiting for someone else to organize it, Raziq and Ezra organized it themselves. The crew held its first run in November 2024, and has been turning up every week since.

Coaches Leading From the Front

What separates a casual group jog from a structured community run is often the presence of people who know what they are doing. Glendale Runners benefits from having two certified and experienced coaches at its core. Raziq brings a background that extends beyond the track: he is also a published author, with a perspective on running that draws on both the physical discipline and the reflective, creative dimensions of the sport. Ezra Weisz brings his own coaching experience to the group, and together they ensure that what happens on Tuesday mornings is purposeful without being rigid. There is a plan, a route, and a pace structure, but the atmosphere stays relaxed enough that showing up in whatever shape you are in feels entirely acceptable. That balance between structure and accessibility is not accidental. It is the product of two coaches who understand that community running is as much about consistency and trust as it is about fitness.

Two Pace Groups, One Community

One of the practical decisions Glendale Runners made early was to split into two pace groups. It is a small detail with a significant effect. In a group where some people are training seriously and others are just getting back into a routine, running at a single pace tends to leave someone uncomfortable. Either the faster runners hold back until the energy drains out of the run, or the slower runners push beyond what feels good and stop coming back. Two groups sidestep that dynamic entirely. Everyone runs at a pace that suits them, and everyone arrives back at roughly the same time. The crew currently counts around ten members, a number that keeps the runs intimate and the conversation easy. At that size, you learn people's names quickly. You notice when someone is missing. The group feels like a group rather than a crowd, which is part of what makes showing up on a cold Tuesday morning feel worthwhile rather than obligatory.

Adams Square and the 4.2 Miles That Start the Week Right

The crew meets at Adams Square Mini Park, a quiet neighborhood green space in Glendale that provides a natural and accessible starting point. The 4.2-mile route has become the crew's weekly constant, a familiar loop that regulars begin to know by feel, the turn where the pace tends to pick up, the stretch where conversation flows most easily, the final push back toward the park. Meeting time is 6:45 in the morning, with the run starting at seven sharp. That fifteen-minute buffer is generous enough to let latecomers settle in without disrupting the group's rhythm. The route can be tracked on the crew's Strava club, where members can follow along, log their efforts, and stay connected during the weeks they cannot make it in person. The Strava presence also gives newer members a way to get a feel for the crew before they show up for the first time.

Coffee After, If You Can Make It

Once the 4.2 miles are done, some of the crew peels off toward work and some of them walk over to Kafn Coffee, the crew's post-run gathering spot and unofficial headquarters. The post-run coffee is offered without pressure. Nobody is expected to stay, and nobody is made to feel absent for heading straight to their desk. But for those who can carve out the time, the coffee stop is where the social fabric of the crew gets woven. Conversations that started on the run continue over a cup. New members get introduced properly. Plans get made for the following Tuesday. Kafn Coffee is the kind of neighborhood spot that suits this kind of crew: local, unfussy, and oriented toward the people who actually live in Glendale rather than those passing through. It fits the crew's wider character, which is rooted in the neighborhood and designed to serve it.

Free, Open, and Built to Last

Glendale Runners operates as a free community wellness initiative. There are no membership fees and no barriers to entry. Raziq and Ezra run the group as a contribution to the neighborhood rather than a commercial enterprise, which shapes everything from the way the runs are structured to the way new members are welcomed. The decision to keep it free is also a statement about who the crew is for. Running culture in Los Angeles can carry a certain premium, a sense that the best gear, the best routes, and the best communities require investment. Glendale Runners pushes back against that idea quietly and consistently, by simply showing up every Tuesday morning and inviting anyone who wants to join in. The crew is open to everyone, regardless of pace, background, or experience. If you can get to Adams Square Mini Park by 6:45 on a Tuesday, you are already most of the way there.

Glendale, Running on Its Own Terms

Glendale sits northeast of downtown Los Angeles, a city of around 200,000 people with a strong sense of its own identity. It is dense, diverse, and often overlooked in conversations about Los Angeles running culture that tend to center on Santa Monica, Silver Lake, or the beach paths along the coast. Glendale Runners is not trying to compete with those scenes. It is building something that belongs specifically to this city, rooted in its streets and oriented toward its residents. The Tuesday morning slot is a deliberate choice that reflects the community Glendale Runners is trying to serve: working people who want to run before the day takes over, who value consistency over spectacle, and who are looking for something real in their neighborhood rather than something they have to travel to find. Since November 2024, that is exactly what Raziq and Ezra have been providing. The run is 4.2 miles. It starts at seven. See you Tuesday.