When Hannah Hosay stepped onto the UF campus in 2020, she didn’t encounter the vibrant Gator spirit most freshmen experience. Instead, she faced the challenges of a pandemic-ridden university adapting to COVID-19 regulations.
But like any other freshman, the now 22-year-old sought to join clubs and organizations to meet new people. As a former soccer player, she wanted to stay connected to the sport, but club soccer wasn’t an option.
Undeterred, Hosay looked at the limited choices and discovered the Florida Running Club, one of the few active clubs ongoing throughout pandemic times, she said. She decided to join, and said that decision would lead her to some of her most memorable college experiences and lifelong friendships.
The Florida Running Club is the only recreational and competitive UF RecSports running club for its students.
The club has two requirements — be a UF student and sign a safety waiver. With no mandatory practices, time qualifications or club dues, its accessibility attracts runners of all levels and backgrounds.
“I think as a club, we’re really flexible and open,” Hosay said. “[We] make sure that we are really uplifting every kind of runner, no matter their ability.”
Hosay, who served as president during her junior and senior years, witnessed the club’s growth from obscurity to a thriving, well-known organization at UF. When she joined in 2020, the club had roughly 15-20 active members, but now membership has surged to 50-60 members.
“We just attract a lot of people with different abilities, which leads to a bigger population of people,” Hosay said.
Her investment in the club awarded her more than friendships. The regular practices dropped Hosay’s 5K running time by two minutes.
“I really do think it’s due to having a community of runners supporting you, pushing you, and cheering you on,” Hosay said.
But the club offers much more than just running. What truly brings the members together are the social gatherings. The events foster a sense of community, allowing the runners to bond over shared experiences and interests beyond their athletic talent.
“We’re not always about running or racing,” Hosay said. “It’s also about doing fun things around the community.”
Twenty-year-old junior Ashley Hilmes was a member of the club for her freshman and sophomore years. In her junior year, she was inspired to join leadership and now serves as the social coordinator.
“[I] love going to all the social events, getting Krishna [lunch], doing things like that, going to the springs, all that fun,” Hilmes said. “Just running [club] is a huge blast.”
The social outings gave the runners an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company away from running. It was these events that built the club’s welcoming and supportive environment paving the way for its members’ lifelong memories and friendships, Hilmes said.
“I've been hosting a lot of socials, and I think that helps get people excited too, but mostly just that we all want to run and we're glad to do it together,” Hilmes said.
For the last two years, the club introduced a prom to give former seniors from the class of 2020 another chance to experience a milestone they missed.
After COVID-19 hindered his ability to attend prom, 20-year-old UF senior Pablo Moreno took the club’s initiative as a chance to experience something he otherwise never would have.
“It was nice to do all that with all the people you care about, and dress up nice,” Moreno said. “It’s a big club, so not everyone’s there at the same time… [prom] is one of the big things where 70 plus people are all there together.”
Moreno attended practices and races during his sophomore and part of his junior year, until an injury sidelined him at the beginning of this year. Despite not being able to run, he found solace in attending the club’s scheduled practices to socialize with friends.
“Even though I could barely run for the next couple of months, I was still going to practice just to talk to people,” Moreno said. “It was a nice way to end the day.”
Contact Krisha Sanghavi at ksanghavi@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @krishasang.
Krisha Sanghavi is a third-year public relations and economics major. In her free time, she loves cheering on Miami sports teams and spending time with her friends.
