For those who like to run, walk or meet new people, Meet Me Downtown is ramping up its weekly walk in celebration of its second birthday on Monday.
Meet Me Downtown is an organization that puts on weekly runs on Mondays in an effort to encourage people to get out and get fit.
“It’s a Monday, and things are happening, and people are on the streets, and the fitness element to it is just so unique,” Brandi Porter, Downtown Phoenix Inc. Marketing and Events Coordinator, said.
Like the weekly runs, this event will be free and open to all ages.
Anissa Jonovich, FitPHX coordinator, said the long term goal for Meet Me Downtown is to make downtown more fitness friendly.
Jonovich said the celebration is not just for runners but people of all fitness levels and ages. Activities will be placed along the run for a more family-oriented atmosphere, such as hop-scotch, hula hooping and jump rope. Jonovich hopes to use these to appeal to younger participants.
“One thing that we’re trying to offer is different ways to get fit and different ways to meet people.” Jonovich said.
The event will include different attractions along the route to keep the walk interesting. There will be golfing activities in Heritage Square along with other fitness-driven companies located throughout the route, offering things such as free yoga classes and live musicians.
Meet Me Downtown also intends to partner up with gyms in the future to inspire more people to stay active.
“It’s a different energy down here, especially because Phoenix is an up-and-growing city,” Jonovich said. “I think that they’re really trying to get people down here to acknowledge all the work that we’re doing with complete streets and getting people to be more walkable and getting out and having more fun and being more active.”
The event itself has attracted a variety of people to help volunteer and make it possible. Chuck Padilla has been volunteering with the walk for almost two years as a photographer.
“I get to know some of the regulars, and so when they see me on the route they know, ‘Here comes Chuck with the camera,’ so they’re ready to pose for me, or they do these funny poses where they jump in the air or do some kind of crazy stuff,” Padilla said.
The walk highlights different sites of downtown such as the parks, restaurants and museum, and not only brings locals but helps make visitors more comfortable with downtown.
“I personally think people are afraid to get downtown because they never know where to park, they have a hard time navigating,” Jonovich said. “I think this walk gives them a chance to see all of the different cool restaurants that we have downtown, and it also allows them to see the different parks that we have downtown.”
Padilla said the event is building its own community.
“It’s community driven. And it’s also a way to develop community in downtown. It will get people out, meet each other, might have same interests and then meet new friends or bring your friends,” Padilla said.
The second birthday celebration starts at 4:30 p.m., and people of all different fitness levels are encouraged to join the community in the walk.
Contact the reporter at bayne.froney@asu.edu.
