“Tag! You’re it,” a kid shouts to an athlete as laughter fills the air and children dash through a field trying to avoid the older students. This was one of many running exercises at Run Your City, an athlete-led club created to provide children with an “inclusive community” and eliminate barriers to participation in sports. The program took place over six weeks, from Sept. 29 to Nov. 3, on Sundays for an hour.

During a session, children had the opportunity to train with student-athletes, who led them through different stretches, running activities and team building exercises. The nationwide program hopes to not only build athletic skill but increase “confidence, health and a sense of belonging” for the children, said Mary Blankemeier, Run Your City founder.

Club members were inspired to start the USC chapter to give back to the Los Angeles community, said Angelina Vasquez, the president of the club and a sophomore majoring in psychology. 

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“For us as athletes, we basically want to do something for the community outside of sticking to our normal practice and everything, basically just giving back to the community in Los Angeles and the kids here,” Vasquez said.

The season planner of the club, Bella Duarte, a sophomore majoring in psychology, had personal reasons for joining the club, as it offered a unique career building experience for life after USC.

“It was a really good experience volunteering for me, to work with children, as that’s what I want to do with my career later on. Working with L.A. kids, it was such a unique experience,” Bella Duarte said.

The club hopes to break negative stigmas around USC and the L.A. community, such as USC being a “money school,”  said Jacqui.

“Breaking down those barriers between USC and L.A. is really important,” Duarte said. “It’s good to open up opportunities for kids and the surrounding area, and break those barriers down, and show we’re not just a school, we’re here to make a difference in the community.”

Beyond introducing kids to track and field, Jacqui said the club wants to introduce participants to an athletic life. As a child, Duarte did not look into track and field as much because it was not as popular as other sports, like basketball or soccer, she said.

“Bringing awareness about our sport to these young kids makes them all the more interested in running, which is a low-equipment sport,” Duarte said. “They can pursue it on their own. They don’t necessarily need teammates as well. You can train wherever you want with whatever equipment.”

Since the club launched this fall, it has faced some challenges. Vasquez said the club struggled to find event locations; they could not be hosted at Felix Field because visitors need a student ID to access it.

“Most other chapters across the country hosted on their university track, which brings a greater presence to these kids,” Duarte said. “Having us train just down the street, on the park on Hoover, I think it was a little bit different. And I’m sure parents might have been concerned for safety.”

Another challenge was communication with the children, Duarte said. Because the events took place outdoors, students struggled with learning how to keep the children in check, as they were able to roam wherever they wanted.

Despite these challenges, Reese Garland, a member in charge of outreach and a sophomore majoring in business administration said members are proud of the work they’ve done throughout the semester.

While the club aimed to bring USC closer to the community, it also brought team members closer, Garland said.

“I got closer to a lot of [teammates] as well, but overall, I think it was more community and just more out of the bottom of our hearts,” Garland said.

Vasquez said that the main goal of the club is to bring children together and to let them have fun. It also serves as a great opportunity to allow USC to support local children.

“If we can bring a community of children together and just let loose for like an hour that would be great,” Vasquez said. “I would say, since we’re a nonprofit, we’re not looking to get anything out of it. We’re just here to support the community and show that we’re not just athletes, we’re willing to give back to the community as well.”