The city of Fort Thomas is the first city in Kentucky to earn a “Runner Friendly Community” designation from the Road Runners Club of America.
Cities across the country were invited to apply for the honor, and Fort Thomas was one of only five communities to earn the designation awarded in fall 2022.
The idea behind the program is to shine a spotlight on communities that support and celebrate running, said Katie Spicer from the Fort Thomas Recreation Department. Cities provided proof of community infrastructure, community support and local government support for running.
The city’s pedestrian-friendly sidewalk system and parks, especially Tower Park, have long been a favorite for walkers, joggers and runners. In 2021, the city’s recreation department began sponsoring its own running groups.
“During COVID, a lot of the running groups shut down,” Spicer said. “So when people wanted to get back into running, they looked around and were not able to find any local running groups. So, we said, ‘Let’s just do it here.’ We wanted to get people really motivated to run through the city. In Fort Thomas, we have a lot of runners. They just needed a home.”
Ramping up running in Fort Thomas
The city worked with the YMCA to develop and promote the city’s initial running program in October 2021.
“We basically put on two community runs a week for any registered runner, and we trained for the Flying Pig Queen Bee 5K,” she said. “That program had great success, and so we started it again in the winter of 2022 to train for the Flying Pig 5K. And, people really liked that.”
They ramped up again for the Queen Bee training and had several participants in the Queen Bee Four-miler in downtown Cincinnati.
“That spurred a really big interest in running for the city,” she said. “For the past two years, we’ve also hosted a free 5K on Thanksgiving, called the Thomas the Turkey 5K. Basically, it’s a sidewalk run from the Mess Hall [in Tower Park] to the high school. You just pay with a canned food good as your entry fee…We had 150 registered runners this year.”
Partners for the long runs
The city also partners with the Newport location of Fleet Feet, a national running apparel and gear chain. The store holds marathon running training sessions and offers discounts to Fort Thomas runners.
“Due to demand for longer-distance training, we’re partnering with them for the Flying Pig’s 25th anniversary marathon,” Spicer said. “We are helping them host some of their marathon training out of Tower Park here. But, at Fort Thomas Running, we’re also hosting a 10K group.”
In other words, area runners will have many opportunities to run and prepare for upcoming 5Ks and marathons. Fort Thomas has also done collaborations with nearby Run 43 Club, a group hosted by Studio 43, a yoga and Pilates studio in Alexandria. A runner from Alexandria won the Flying Pig last year, Spicer noted.
“Basically we are just trying to bring all the runners in our area communities together for training and entering races,” Spicer said. “That way we can collaborate and pull in more people.”
Support for all runners
The Fleet Feet marathon training program kicked off this past week, and the Fort Thomas 10K group will start training together in February. The Fort Thomas program will last 12 weeks, with runs twice a week, preparing runners for the 10K at the Flying Pig Marathon in May.
Spicer said she wants to encourage people from Fort Thomas and across Northern Kentucky to join in.
“Anyone can be a runner with the proper support and training,” she said. “We want to provide that for our community and encourage runners with a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. Come run with us.”
For more information, contact the Fort Thomas Recreation Department at 859-781-1700 or contact Recreation Director Kat Disney at kdisney@ftthomas.org or 859-816-4637, See also “Fort Thomas Recreation Department” on Facebook. The Recreation Center is located at 950 S. Fort Thomas Ave.