Saturday Morning Run Club: Griffith Park, Cold Brew, and 12 New PRs

Griffith Park at 7AM on a Saturday is one of Los Angeles's better kept secrets. The tourists haven't arrived. The heat hasn't built. The trails are empty except for the people who decided that early mornings are better than late nights — at least on Saturdays.

Last weekend we had 34 people show up for the run. Some were regulars. A few came for the first time after seeing the invite on Instagram. One person drove in from Pasadena. The mix is always the best part.

The route

We ran the Western Canyon loop — about 4.5 miles with around 500 feet of elevation. Not brutal, but enough to make the cold brew at mile 3 feel earned. We set up a small pop-up at the picnic area near the bird sanctuary. Nitro cold brew on tap, a bag of trail mix, and somewhere around 20 minutes of standing around pretending to stretch.

Twelve people hit personal records on the climb segment. Three of them hadn't run in over a month. The conversations that happen when you're working at 80% effort are different from the ones that happen at a coffee shop. Something about the effort level drops the social armor. People talk about what they're actually working on.

Next one

We run every other Saturday. Location rotates — next one is in Malibu. Show up, push a little, recover well. That's the whole thing. Follow our Instagram to get the next invite.