Syracuse, N.Y. – When Syracuse native Gabrielle Lloyd decided to run with her friends to the MOST last year for the Fourth of July, she thought it was just that — a run with friends.
She never thought it would turn into the Syracuse Run Club with 100-200 people running around the city weekly.
After the first run, Lloyd knew she and co-founder, Eli Green, were building something great.
It started with an Instagram direct message.
Lloyd, 31, posted a story saying she wanted to run to the MOST and back.
Green, her co-founder, messaged her to say he was starting a run club at the same time and already had an Instagram for it. They decided to join forces and immediately moved in sync.
They carpooled to the first run, and about 30 people showed up. When Green dropped Lloyd off, he looked at her and said, “We can do anything!” Gabby responded, “We could do anything!”
“Fast forward, we’re now going into the second year,” Lloyd said. Their club bloomed to include up to 200 runners each week.
“We quite literally are doing anything.”
When they run through the city, people start pulling out their phones and recording because there are so many of them.
They’re trekking through one of the most segregated cities in America, doing a hobby that has excluded Black people for many years. It’s an anomaly.
“Me and Elijah are both people of color... you don’t see us running,” Lloyd said. “So it is important for us, people of color, to keep doing things out of the norm in our city.”
So far, they have created T-shirts, hosted group runs with other local clubs and secured sponsorships from the mayor’s office and Revive West, a county wellness center.
The club is also different from others, because they accept “All Paces, All Welcome. Always,” as their motto says in their Instagram bio.
Lloyd has witnessed this community “spider web” at each of the runs. From lawyers to doctors, they all take off their workwear to run on Saturdays. Lloyd, a cosmetologist, learned about a mental health fair that someone was hosting at a recent run.
“That was a void missing. Fitness, social, safe...We did not even realize that those were cups that needed to be filled,” Lloyd said.
The next run will be on Saturday, August 2 at Meier’s Creek Brewing (720 Van Rensselaer St.). To get involved, just show up. They post their runs weekly on their Instagram @syracuserunclub.
Lloyd’s advice to other trendsetters?
“Trendsetting is honestly revealing yourself, cause you’re allowing yourself to be seen,” Lloyd said. “Once you reveal yourself, you realize oh my God, there’s other like minds that want to do this too.”
Do you know a CNY Trailblazer or Trendsetter?
Throughout 2025, Syracuse.com invites readers to identify “Trailblazers and Trendsetters,” a wide-ranging group of local entrepreneurs, professionals, artists and advocates — leaders committed to uplifting their communities, inspiring change and working to make a difference in Central New York.
If you’d like to suggest someone to be featured next in our series, email Katrina Tulloch at ktulloch@syracuse.com.
Meet all our 2025 Syracuse Trailblazers
• June: Sayir Moussa
• May: Tahirah Abdul-Qadir
• April: Mary Homer
• March: Sora Kasuga
• February: Amanda Eke
• January: Shana Everson
