Confetti flew through the air as Peace Runners 773 members cheered on their teammates and other runners at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 11, offering high-fives and encouragement to those pushing toward the finish line.
Peace Runners 773 is a non-profit organization that advocates for health equity. The scene reflected a deeper impact documented in a recent Kent State University study that found that the organization’s Out West Run program improved participants’ mental health and strengthened their sense of belonging to their neighborhoods.
According to Block Club Chicago, Peace Runners 773 commissioned two Kent State University professors to study its community running program. The study followed 111 participants and found improved mental health, including a 2.6-point drop in depression screening scores and a 51% increase in participants’ sense of belonging to their neighborhood.
Jackie Hoffman, founder and executive director of Peace Runners 773, said the group’s presence at mile 16 of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon reflected the sense of belonging and community connection documented in the Kent State University study. Members cheered on runners, offering encouragement and showing how the West Side organization brings people together beyond its running programs.
“Every single Peace Runner understood the assignment of what we were there for. It’s for their own personal journey, but it’s also for the greater cause of our communities. We’re here to respect the Out West Run program.” Hoffman said.
Hoffman explained that the Kent State study validated the positive impact Peace Runners 773 had been witnessing in the community through its programs.
“Many people in the community would come up to us saying they feel better and love this space. They would say, ‘I feel better mentally. This is my safe space.’ People have lost weight and we heard about changes in their perspectives on the community and how they viewed it. We heard these things on a weekly basis, but we needed something to help articulate the real work beyond simply saying people felt good or felt better,” Hoffman said.
Credit: Hector Cervantes
Hoffman said Peace Runners 773 is more than a run club because it brings people together around a shared mission. Rather than simply running together, the organization is working to change the narrative about West Side communities. The impact study also helps establish Peace Runners 773 as a community-rooted wellness organization that centers residents’ voices.
“That’s what we call a movement because everybody is moving toward a mission to change systems. Health equity is real. We don’t have grocery stores within our community, but if we don’t move together collectively, we can’t create that change. People shouldn’t let a ZIP code tell them how long they’re supposed to live. I think that’s the wildest thing I’ve heard throughout this whole process,” Hoffman said.
Tawanda Willis and her 16-year-old daughter, Koby Byndom, are members of Peace Runners 773. Willis and Koby’s father, Greg Byndom, joined other members at the Mile 16 mark of the Chicago Marathon to cheer Koby on as she competed in her first marathon.
“Koby has completed several half-marathons, one in Canada and three in Illinois. She started running at 14 and this is her first marathon at 16,” Willis said.
Willis said her daughter first joined Peace Runners 773 through a program at Breakthrough, where she would drop her off and pick her up. After a few years, Willis decided to join herself through the organization’s walkers-to-runners program.
When asked if being part of Peace Runners 773 changed how members feel physically or mentally, Byndom said Peace Runners 773 has helped Koby see more of the city by taking her to different neighborhoods and giving her new experiences.
“They run up and down Madison, Austin and Chicago Avenue, through so many different blocks. I think that gives her a chance to see everything,” Byndom said.
Hoffman stated the findings of the study suggest that participants benefit from the community as much as the exercise itself. In practice, that looks like people showing up for one another and creating a positive culture within the community.
“When we first started Peace Runners, there weren’t many of us. Now, we have about 500 to 600 people who can call themselves Peace Runners because it’s such a big community,” Hoffman said. “Now we’re shifting the culture of what our communities look like. We don’t have to go to Oak Park to run. We can run in the communities we’ve created. We’re showing that our neighborhoods are walkable and runnable, even though people might say Garfield Park or the West Side isn’t.”
Landon Williams and his mother, Patricia Williams, are Austin residents who came to the Mile 16 mark of the Chicago Marathon to cheer on Landon’s brother, a Peace Runners 773 member running alongside his twin sister.
“To bring it here to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, on the corner of Paulina and Jackson, it feels like home. It feels like a backyard party,” Landon Williams said. “ I’ve never been around another group that was so excited about running and this race in Chicago. Those statistics (from the study) aren’t really a surprise to me. Being around Peace Runners and understanding what they do, you can see it in their energy, their camaraderie and how they come together.”