When Zaakiyah Brisker goes for a run in South LA, she receives cheers from all sorts of people, such as an elderly lady at the bus stop, a stranger on the sidewalk, or a driver honking their horn.
Running culture is not as well established here as in other parts of LA, says Brisker. The shouts and dabs (fist bumps) feel like an aunt or uncle saying “I'm very proud of you, to see you out there running,” she says.
Today she and Jazmin Garcia are co-captains of the South Central Run Club. These types of groups have grown in popularity in LA in recent years, and many are focused on training for races. Garcia and Brisker instead use theirs to redefine what it means, and looks like, to be healthy in an underserved community.
“We grow up thinking that a healthy, balanced person does not look like us,” says Brisker.
Jazmin Garcia (left) and Zaakiyah Brisker grew up in the neighborhood and are the co-captains of the South Central Run Club. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez.
The women met in 2018 on Instagram. Brisker wanted to start a running club, and she saw Garcia had claimed the name she wanted. Garcia created the South Central Run Club after experiencing the fleeting joy of a runner’s high and sense of community at Koreatown Run Club events. She wanted people in her neighborhood to have that as well.
After a pause during the pandemic, the pair decided to work together to build up the club’s local presence in 2021. Their ongoing goal is to normalize running culture in South Central, and more importantly, increase community wellness. The likelihood that the neighborhood’s Black and Brown residents live a long and healthy life is disproportionately low compared to other parts of LA County.
Through the club, Brisker hopes participants will begin to recognize the ways they’ve internalized the negative stereotype of their neighborhood.
“We're not seeing proper representations of ourselves,” says Brisker. “And so we're not able to associate what we're doing as something that's actually taking care of ourselves.”
A group gathers outside of Manual Arts High School before a three-mile workout with the South Central Run Club. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez.
The club meets weekly on Saturday mornings and monthly on Thursday evenings. The night runs are focused on neighborhood pride and begin at a notable location. They’ve met at Hanks Mini Mart, a longtime liquor store that the neighborhood relies on for essential pantry items and fresh produce; and the original FatBurger started by Lovie Yancey, a local Black woman. After the run, they hold a meditation.
On a recent Thursday, they chose Manual Arts High School, one of LA’s oldest schools. It may be best known for overcrowding, underfunding, and poor academic performance. But Garcia, a 2010 graduate, says she wanted to meet there to “honor the creativity and perseverance of South Central youth.”
These positive messages and the sense of accomplishment from the run keeps locals like Juan Lozano coming back. “I’m telling you, I love it,” he says. “It’s beautiful.”
The club stretches together before starting an evening run. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez.
In the twilight before the run, two dozen runners talk and laugh while they stretch in a circle. “If people are having a great time, people feel healed. That's one part of creating joy,” says Garcia. “And we just want to create spaces that empower communities to be themselves.”