Michigan Women's Distance Gives Back to Community Through Run Your City
7/13/2026 3:48:00 PM | Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
By Jadyn Zdanavage
This spring, women's distance runners from the University of Michigan cross country and track and field teams established a "Run Your City" Ann Arbor chapter to create opportunities for young children to engage in sports in a safe environment while learning valuable lessons in teamwork and sportsmanship.
Run Your City was originally founded by student-athletes at the University of Virginia and expanded to include chapters throughout the United States. Rising juniors Stephanie Bertram and Natalie VanOtteren were approached by a Northwestern student-athlete with the idea of starting a chapter in Ann Arbor in the winter and began compiling a board to work on launching RYC by the spring.
Five practices were hosted by Run Your City, but preparations began in January. Rising sophomore and community engagement officer Caroline Beiting says there were extensive arrangements that were necessary to host the practices.
"I thought I was jumping into something simple and not too time-consuming, but it ended up being a bigger commitment than I expected, which I am so grateful for," said Beiting. "Putting this work into a program that was able to impact over 100 kids was so worthwhile."
Beiting's job was to find locations to host practices, acquire permits and recruit local children to sign up. Both Bertram and VanOtteren note that the most difficult aspect of starting RYC was securing a location, since Ann Arbor does not have many public tracks. The RYC team ended up settling on Leslie Park, about a 10-minute drive from campus.
Another challenge came when trying to attract signups.
"What was most successful for us was contacting the Ann Arbor Public Schools superintendent and asking him to post our sign-up flyer on the AAPS newsletter," Beiting said.
Despite the initial obstacles, RYC had over 200 signups in its first year.
Making a Lasting Difference
The imprint RYC left on the local community and children is already evident.
"Most of the children remembered the key values we talked about each session, like teamwork and confidence," VanOtterren said.
Ultimately, the values taught at RYC extend beyond the program itself. RYC equips young children with skills and character traits that are meaningful in every area of life.
Not only was RYC able to positively impact the children, but it was able to uplift the spirits of the RYC board members and other volunteers who took the time to conduct the practices. The schedules of student-athletes are often demanding, so adding another commitment to the weekly routine can seem daunting. But RYC never failed to provide a necessary break and a sense of perspective.
"No matter how I felt each day, every session genuinely revived me, and it was so much fun to do," Bertram said.
Growing Forward
RYC proved meaningful to the community in its first year. It's evident that RYC will continue to grow when it returns next spring for year two, and Beiting hopes there will continue to be an increase in support from both local businesses and students.
"I hope to have more volunteers in the future, to be able to fundraise enough money to get equipment such as cones, flags, etc., and to finally get more support from local businesses so that we can provide snacks and drinks for the kids," she said. "This year, we got donuts from Washtenaw Dairy for our final practice, so we hope we can provide treats like that more often."
RYC demonstrates the powerful impact student-athletes at Michigan can have on the community. Being one transcends an individual's time at the university and gives them a chance to act as powerful mentors and create lasting change in the lives of children.
Make sure to follow Run Your City Ann Arbor on Instagram for updates if you or your child is interested in participating next year.
