Ladies from various walks of life and running speeds have geared up in their running shoes to join the newest running crew in El Paso, known as Girls Run the 915. The running group was born from a mission to empower women on their running paths.
Arianne Ontiveros and Daniela Carrillo are the co-founders of Girls Run the 915. It began as a passion project to fill the gap of women running in El Paso.
“We noticed that a lot of women in El Paso didn’t really have people to run with or were too scared to start,” Ontiveros said. “We realized that women need a space for themselves where they didn’t feel any pressures and just felt empowered in their running journey.”
The group’s first run took place March 3 at the 2Ten coffee shop located on Montana Avenue. The second run was their St. Patricks run held at Haddox Family Park. This run also included a yoga session led by local yoga teacher Sara Sansura. The organizers say that around 150 women show up to each run.
“I like that we’re a big group and I don’t have to run alone,” said runner Alicia Barron who has been a part of the group since the beginning. “I also like that we get to run in different areas around the city.”
The runs are hosted bi-weekly at different local businesses around the city. So far, the running group has co-hosted runs with different local businesses around the city. These local businesses include 2Ten coffee shop, Nektar El Paso, Liv Athletics, Sada Sarsura, Restore Hyper Wellness, and Welded Beauty.
As time progresses, the group says they plan on hosting runs during the week that anyone can join. They say it doesn’t matter if the person is just starting their running journey or has been running marathons all their life.
“I’ve been running with the group since they first started,” said runner Yaretsy Hernandez who hit her personal record while running with the group. “I found out about it through my friend who sent the Instagram post. Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of people hop on the marathon bandwagon and it’s become a little of a trend.”
Co-founder Carillo says that they plan to continue helping local businesses and giving them more exposure with their meet ups.
“It’s for the girls by the girls,” Ontiveros said. “We are female runners, and we know what it’s like going through different phases of running. It’s a club for everyone.”
The next run will be the Earth Day 5k run on Monday, April 22 at Lululemon West at 6:15 p.m.
To learn more information about the group or future runs follow the group’s Instagram @girlsrunthe915 or email them at [email protected].
Alyson Rodriguez is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected]; @alyson_rod1127 on X.
