Calling all runners: There’s a new Sewickley-based running club, compliments of a sporty, social married couple living in nearby Edgeworth.
Anne and Joel Simpson moved to Edgeworth from New Jersey in 2022 and noticed a lot of solo runners in the Sewickley area but discovered there wasn’t a nearby organized running group.
“We actually met at a running club,” Joel said of the couple’s shared passion for running.
The avid runners left behind a large, active running club in New Jersey.
Joel was motivated to duplicate what the couple had very much enjoyed in New Jersey in the Sewickley area, forming Sewickley Runners last year.
“We missed that community of people after moving here. We were at a Christmas party and someone suggested we start a running club here,” Joel said.
The inaugural run was held Feb. 28 and attracted a handful of runners of all levels.
Now, the club meets weekly at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the corner of Beaver and Broad streets for a 5-mile run following a set route that loops around Sewickley Village.
“I’m a significant creature of habit, so we take the same route,” Joel said.
The club has about 200 members and meets year-round, even running in the dark during the winter months when runners don reflective safety vests donated by a club member. The runs attract on average 15 to 25 people and are held even in snowy conditions. Runners represent a variety of running paces, and all running levels are invited.
Membership is free.
The club meets rain or shine, and afterward everyone is invited to gather at the Sewickley Hotel and Rose’s Cantina on Beaver Street for a post-run libation or nonalcoholic beverage.
Joel, 56, hails from Ford City in Armstrong County, and Anne, 38, grew up in South Jersey.
Finding himself recently divorced and living in an apartment in Jersey, Joel had a contemplative moment.
“I sat in my apartment one night and thought, ‘Now what do I do?’ ” he said. “So I joined Raritan Valley Road Runners and began running. I joined a community of runners, and they became some of my best friends — and ultimately my wife.”
The couple touted the club’s super social component and credited the group with expanding their social circle.
“It’s really the whole point. Maybe more than the actual running,” Anne said. “We just fell in love with Sewickley and Edgeworth.”
Member Michael Marek of Sewickley is a busy father of four and works as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
“As a runner, it helps me develop more friendships, and with four children it’s nice to take that weekly run and have some time for myself,” Marek said. “It’s a great, friendly group.”
The Simpsons incorporated running into their wedding day festivities in 2015, hosting a 5K “Tie The Knot Trot” for friends and family the morning before their nuptials.
Joel runs at least 3 miles daily and is on a consecutive streak of running every day this year.
“We’re excited to see our group continue to expand,” Joel said.
Join Sewickley Runners by emailing sewickleyrunners@gmail.com.