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Meet Randi Hartmann, Johnny Grenz, Josh Robinson and James Rogers of Riot AZ

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Randi Hartmann, Johnny Grenz, Josh Robinson and James Rogers.

Our story started back in 2015. Randi Hartmann, our soon to be founder, has always had a love for running. She was an activate participant in a run club during that time which decided to shut down. Due to her love for running and the local community, she decided to begin her own run club. Through the support of close friends and family, RIOT AZ (Running is Our Therapy, Arizona) was born! During the early years of RIOT, the group had the local support of the Nike store, which used to be located at the Scottsdale Quarter. Although back then the sizes of our group runs were not very large, they were still rich in community. During those early days, longtime friend and co-worker of Randi, Johnny Grenz, helped support and facilitate runs with Randi. Johnny would eventually become the mastermind who would grow our visual brand by expanding our original logo, which was created by Randi’s brother, Dan.

Through consistency and commitment to the run club, Randi and Johnny would ensure that a group run would take place every single Tuesday, regardless of the weather or size of the groups. About a year later, a new runner would join forces with Randi and Johnny to help with the group, James Rogers. The new team of three would begin to experiment with different ideas of how to grow the group and create awareness of who RIOT AZ was in the valley. The first big step was creating a monthly schedule that would have themed runs for each week. For example, the first Tuesday of every month would be our “1-mile beginner’s run”, which was geared for any person who was interesting in starting their running journey. We wanted to create a run for those who were newer to the sport that perhaps didn’t feel comfortable running 3-4 miles with others quite yet. The next big idea the three implemented was a stronger social media presence. So they took to Instagram to create awareness of RIOT AZ and wanted to showcase that running is not only fun but even better when it’s with a group!

Through their new commitment to spread the word about RIOT AZ, the final leader emerged from the group, Joshua Robinson. Josh had just moved from California and started running with the group every week. Josh was great with building connection with others and showed a huge passion for the group and what we stood for. With the four key leaders in place, the group began to see a boost in attendance. RIOT AZ group runs began to increase to double digit runners consistently.

At that point, our brand began to grow. We were having a stronger social media presence, through the help of Johnny, our logo was being put on more and more shirts. We decided to launch our first even official product, a RIOT AZ hat. We were beginning to gain momentum. In early February of 2018, due to Randi’s commitment to our runners and trying new things, she created the first even “finisher board”. At the time, we had no idea the significance our finisher boards would have on our community. They were designed to push us all to new heights after our group runs, in terms of our health and fitness. Runners fell in love with the finisher boards! Almost every week, different runners needed to snag a picture with the board and Randi and post it on their social media. The workouts varied each week. Some were harder than others but overall, they were fun and everyone felt great once they were finished!

Then in August, we made a connection that would forever change our group! We joined forces with our local lululemon store located at the Scottsdale Quarter! Their support and encouragement of the group gave us the extra boost we needed to keep working harder! We started to see a lift in attendance during that period. Our group runs went from have 4-8 people to cleared double-digit runners week after week. lululemon introduced us to #thesweatlife mentality and we fell in love with it immediately. It was great connecting with a company that had similar values as our group. Later that year we decided to create finisher boards dedicated to local run/fitness groups. RIOT AZ was building great connections with other local groups and we wanted to show our love for those groups by dedicating finisher boards to them. Some of the boards included the November Project, Black Men Run Phoenix and Sole Sports. All groups that are making a huge difference in Arizona and their local communities.

It was through those connections that we teamed up in October of 2018 with Emmet from Sole Sports. Emmet and Randi had been friends for quite some time and he was a huge supporter of the group. So we teamed up with Emmet and Shake Shack to create a monthly run that would change everything for our group! The first group with Sole Sports and Shake Shack was huge! At least over 50 runners showed up. Through that specific run, we met some runners that would forever change RIOT AZ. We met runners such as Sam Bays, who had been following RIOT AZ for over a year on Instagram, but due to the time of our normal group runs, was never able to make it out until that Shake Shack run! The local running community began to come together on the second Tuesday of every month at this Shake Shack run. Run groups from Sole Sports, Black Men Run, Runner’s Den, November Project, Aravaipa, Helton Adventure Tribe. The list goes on. It made us proud to be a part of this amazing running community that we have in Arizona!

In 2019 we saw our biggest numbers ever for our group run sizes. Gone were the days of single digit runners. We were even hitting 15+ runners during the hottest times of the year, which is normally the time our group runs would decrease due to the heat. We were meeting new runners week after week. We were ecstatic that runners throughout the valley saw value in attending a group run with us. Apart from normal group runs, we were seeing a tremendous turn out for local runs throughout the valley. Some of our runners were completing their first ever half-marathon, full marathon, 10k and even 5k for some. It was a beautiful thing, seeing runners who became our close friends tackle these amazing milestones in their running journey!

Which brings us to 2020. This year marks our 5-year anniversary. Looking back, it’s crazy to see how far we have come. Not just as a running group, but as individuals. Our passion for creating a space for others to join and achieve their fitness goals has kept us motivated throughout the years. Community is everything to us. Seeing runners achieve goals they never thought was possible is what keeps us motivated. Running in many ways is an individual sport. At RIOT AZ, though, it’s a team sport. And what makes RIOT AZ so special is every single person who has ran with us throughout the years. It’s because of them that we who we are today!

Has it been a smooth road?
Overall, the road has been fun and exciting but has also had its bumps along the way. It is difficult being a running group in Arizona unless you want to run at 6am every day to beat the heat. Being located in North Scottsdale, our 6pm group run time has been a hindrance for some to be able to make it out and run with us. We have talked throughout the years of whether or not we should change the day we run or the time, but the reality is, it was not possible to meet the needs of everyone. So we kept to our normal group runs and made a commitment to get out more during the weekend to allow others to run with us as well as go support other local run groups.

Our numbers fluctuated week to week in the early years. Even though at times we only had three runners show up, it was still fun because we got to run and build community, even with a small number. As the group sizes began to grow, it did gives us encouragement and that extra fire to keep pushing forward. The size of the group runs never defined us as a group, but they did let us know that we were on the right path.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with RIOT AZ – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
RIOT AZ is a free running group that is open to runners of all levels to participate in. The four main leaders do not make any money from the group. It is all done for the love of our local running community. Our main goal is create a safe place for runners of all levels, shapes and sizes. To remind people that success in the running community looks different for everyone. That running 1 mile is the same distance for everyone, regardless of time or speed.

We are extremely proud to be an active participant in this wonderful running community. We have met so many amazing people along the way. We are truly thankful that others trust us enough to commit their time on Tuesday nights to come run with us.

There are so many great run clubs in Arizona. I think for us, people see our Instagram and think “these guys look fun, I want to go run with them”. And when they do, we think they have a great time. We are very much a social run club. For those looking to train seriously for a race, our group runs might not be the best fit. We are geared towards newer runners or advanced runners who are looking to be a part of a community of runners. We also do our best to support other run clubs in town. We are all in this together. It’s not about competition with other running groups but rather support and love. Everyone is helping better the human condition through providing a space for people to be active. There are so many amazing benefits from running and being active and we do our best to build up other groups who promote health and community.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We love North Scottsdale! It has such a great vibe, especially at the Scottsdale Quarter. The way it’s lit up at night along with all the great food spots. It’s truly a great area to be a part of. Not too mention all of the great hiking trails around us!

Pricing:

  • RIOT AZ is a free run club

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Jaymes Rogers

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