6th Annual Night Runner Pride 5K with Night Runners WPB

Summary

Episode Overview

Theme:
This episode of Culturally Speaking: The South Florida Sunday Podcast spotlights the upcoming 6th Annual Night Runner Pride 5K hosted by Night Runners WPB, an inclusive LGBTQ+ running and walking group in West Palm Beach. The conversation explores the group’s decade-long history, its community-building mission, event details for the Pride 5K, and the broader impact of fitness and connection.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Night Runners WPB

• Background:

  • Night Runners WPB is a nonprofit, community-focused walking and running group with a special emphasis on inclusivity and acceptance for all—particularly the LGBTQ+ population and allies. [00:57]
  • Celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2026, the group has evolved from four friends into a tight-knit community averaging 40–50 participants per session, with up to 85 at peak events. [01:44, 02:04]

• Group Activities:

  • Meets twice a week (Mondays & Thursdays at 8pm) to avoid the daytime heat and foster a comfortable, social atmosphere. [00:57]
  • Runs are open to all fitness levels and always include waiting for everyone to finish. "We cheer everybody on at the end and we take a group photo." – Rudolph [00:57]
  • No cost for regular runs; open participation policy.

• Community as Family:

  • "It is a family. Night Runners WPB has really grown and created a community, an LGBTQ community with allies that's inclusive for everybody." – Rudolph [02:04]
  • Social outings and events—monthly birthday celebrations, beach trips, pool days—help deepen connections beyond running.

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2. The 6th Annual Pride 5K

• Event Details & Atmosphere:

  • Date & Time: Saturday, June 27th at 6:30pm
  • Location: Begins and ends at the West Palm Beach Waterfront, running along scenic Flagler Drive. [05:13, 07:40]
  • “We start at 6:30pm so we start in the afternoon evening that goes with our name, Night Runners WPB.” – Rudolph [03:38]
  • Open to everyone: walk, run, compete, do it for mental health, or just socialize.

• Participation & Perks:

  • Registration Fee: $45 (increases to $50 closer to the event), includes T-shirt or tank and finishers’ medal. [04:32]
  • “Everybody will receive a T shirt or a tank, as well as a medal that we're excited to really promote.” – Rudolph [03:38]
  • All ages welcome and the group expects a festive, party-like experience.

• Post-Race Celebration:

  • After-party hosted at the newly opened Cowboy Club on Clematis Street, within walking distance. [05:34]
  • Awards for first, second, and third in each age group.

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3. Volunteering & Support

• Volunteer Opportunities:

  • Seeking event day volunteers for registration, water stations, setup, and cleanup.
  • “Anybody who goes to our website, NightRunnersWPB.com can click on the 5K and sign up to volunteer.” – Rudolph [05:44]
  • Additional opportunities leading up to the event, like packet stuffing and pickup.

• Sponsors:

  • Open call for new sponsors and partnerships, vital for sustaining the group’s mission and events.
  • “We're very excited about and always looking for opportunities for new sponsors, new partnerships to help keep our group thriving and continuing for another 10 years, moving forward.” – Rudolph [05:44]

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4. Year-Round Community Engagement

• Regular Socials:

  • Night Runners WPB isn’t just about fitness—they offer a variety of year-round events such as group dinners, bar nights, and community gatherings.
  • “Anything that brings community together and gives our participants a chance to do something aside from just walking and running, something a little bit different. It has built a family and I feel that when I'm there every time...” – Rudolph [06:39]

• Leadership & Organization:

  • A dedicated board of directors and volunteers coordinate events and keep the nonprofit thriving.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Building Community:

  • “What started off as a small group through word of mouth, through social media has grown...And as we've grown, we've added things like social events. And the goal of Night Runners WPB is truly to create community.” – Rudolph [02:04]

• On Inclusivity:

  • “There's no charge and no cost. You can walk, you can run, you can jog, you can skip. We wait for everybody to finish, and we cheer everybody on at the end.” – Rudolph [00:57]

• On Group Growth:

  • “We've seen up to 85 walkers and runners in one evening on one of our Mondays and Thursdays. And currently this past year, we've been averaging between 40 and 50 each night.” – Rudolph [02:04]

• On the Event’s Vibe:

  • “I want to get into who you are because maybe, like, there's someone out here that is looking for a group like you, and they just don't know you exist.” – Host [00:46]
  • “We will have an after party as well, and one of the businesses on Clematis Street...we'll continue the party after the walk and run, meet up for appetizers, for drinks, and continue just to celebrate.” – Rudolph [03:38]

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Important Timestamps

• Introduction & Group Background: 00:00–02:04
• Community & Growth Story: 02:04–03:20
• 5K Event Details: 03:20–05:34
• Volunteer & Sponsorship Info: 05:34–06:34
• Year-Round Activities & Organization: 06:34–07:31
• Event Recap & Registration Info: 07:31–end

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Registration & Contact Information

• Event Details Recap:

  • Date: Saturday, June 27th
  • Time: 6:30pm
  • Location: West Palm Beach Waterfront, Flagler Drive
  • Registration: nightrunnerswpb.com
  • Cost: $45 (increases to $50 near the event)
  • All levels, all ages, everyone welcome.

• Contact & Volunteer Info:

  • For volunteering, sponsorship, or general inquiries, visit the website or send an email via the contact page.

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Tone & Original Language

The conversation is lively, encouraging, and inclusive. Both host and guest focus on the joy of community, the accessibility of the group, and the festive spirit of the Pride 5K.

“Night Runners WPB has really grown and created a community, an LGBTQ community with allies that's inclusive for everybody.” – Rudolph [02:04]

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This episode is a vibrant testament to how sports and social initiatives boost inclusion, mental health, and friendship in South Florida’s LGBTQ+ and allied communities—culminating in a high-energy, meaningful Pride 5K event.

Transcript

[A]

Pride Month is next month, and what a better way to kick it off than with a nice 5K. The Night Runners West Palm Beach 6 annual Pride 5K is coming up here pretty soon. And love this. It starts at 6:30pm yeah, we're doing this at night. Okay. And right now I have Rudolph joining me to tell us all about it. Thank you so much for joining the show.

[B]

Thank you for having me. I'm excited to Talk about our 5K and everything that our group has been doing and accomplishing over the past few years.

[A]

Yes. Honestly, I was, like, reading through it and unstalking you guys on social media. Really does look like it's about to be a party. So,

[B]

yes, it's sixth annual, so it's bigger and better each year, and we're already seeing more registration this year than we've seen in the past years at this time.

[A]

That's amazing. But before we do, talk to about the 5k. I want to get into who you are because maybe, like, there's someone out here that is looking for a group like you, and they just don't know you exist. Like, this is amazing.

[B]

What is Night Runners West Palm Beach Night Runners wpb. We are a nonprofit community walking and running group with a focus on being inclusive and welcoming for all. And this is actually our 10th year that will be have meeting, running and walking. So we meet twice a week at 8pm which goes with our name, Night Runners WPV. And we miss the hot time with the sun out. Right. So it's nice and cool out. We get a breeze. We run as a group. We run in downtown. We run through parks. We have different routes, so everybody is welcome to come. There's no charge and no cost. You can walk, you can run, you can jog, you can skip. We wait for everybody to finish, and we cheer everybody on at the end and we take a group photo.

[A]

You guys actually started in 2016, as you said. You are celebrating your 10th anniversary right now, but you started as a group of friends who decided to get together for these weekly runs. I see that this group has grown. You're. You're doing events now. You're like a family. And I see all these group photos. I see dinners. I see runners with their kids. I see celebrations. This is like a family.

[B]

It is a family. Night Runners WPB has really grown and created a community, an LGBTQ community with allies that's inclusive for everybody. And we did start off 10 years ago with four people, four friends who were looking for a way to meet other adults. And it's difficult sometimes to meet adults and friends in the community, especially in the LGBTQ community. And so what started off as a small group through word of mouth, through social media has grown. And we've seen up to 85 walkers and runners in one evening on one of our Mondays and Thursdays. And currently this past year, we've been averaging between 40 and 50 each night that we walk and run. And that includes families, some moms that come with their kids. We've had a couple of dogs. And as we've grown, we've added things like social events. And we do a monthly social celebration for birthdays. We've done beach trips together, we've done pool days. And the goal of Night Runners WPB is truly to create community. And that's what we've done. And we've been going strong for 10 years. And it's exciting to see still all these socials with high attendance, our runs with high attendance, and even our 5k with high attendance.

[A]

Exactly. So many positives here. Not only is it great for your body, but it's great for your mental health. It's great for connection. I love all of this. And of course, we were talking about your weekly runs, but it's a perfect way to also get ready for your Pride 5K. Let's talk about that. I know it's going to be a party, like I said, because you have everything out there. What are the details?

[B]

It's our 6th annual Pride 5K that's coming up on June 27th. We start at 6:30pm so we start in the afternoon evening that goes with our name, Night Runners wpb. And this is for people who can walk, this is for people who can run, they can compete, they can do it for mental health, they can do it to socialize. Everybody will receive a T shirt or a tank, as well as a medal that we're excited to really promote. Night Runners wpb promote all over inclusivity. And we will have a after party as well, and one of the businesses on Clematis street, which will be walking distance from where we're at. So we'll continue the party after the walk and run, meet up for appetizers for drinks, and continue just to celebrate this sixth annual event that we are very fortunate that we've been able to raise those funds and keep this event going throughout the years.

[A]

Wow. So you said wave fines. That means that it's free.

[B]

The fees for our Monday and Thursday group are free, but we do charge for our Pride 5K. The Pride 5K is $45. It will go up a couple of weeks before the the race at $50. And the $45 includes your T shirt, includes a medal and includes your participation.

[A]

No, this is a really great price for something that you're going to have such an amazing time at. You're going to make so many memories and friendships and you know, like you say, you walk away with as gorgeous metal, by the way, because like I said, I was talking on social media and the T shirts too. Your theme is amazing. I love it. So you also mentioned Clematis Street. So where's the run going to be taking place? Is that Flagler?

[B]

The run will be taking place on Flagler. We'll be at the West Palm beach waterfront. That's where we've had the race for the last four years. And it will be a great view along Flagler start and finish. We'll pass out awards for our first, second and third to our age groups and then move the to the after party which will be at the Cowboy Club on Clematis Street.

[A]

Yes, a new cowboy club. This is perfect because it just opened. A lot of people planning on getting out there to go check it out. You can do it right after the run. Are you looking for any volunteers or sponsors?

[B]

Yes, we are looking for volunteers for the day of the event. They help with registration, with water distribution, with setup. There's a lot of things that people can do and so anybody who goes to our website, NightRunnersWPB.com can click on the 5K and sign up to volunteer. We also have some volunteer opportunities leading up to the run, packet pickup and putting together packets. So if somebody is interested in walking and running and volunteering, they can volunteer leading up to the event or even do something with setup or do something with cleanup. And we have quite a number of sponsors coming in which we're very excited about and always looking for opportunities for new sponsors, new partnerships to help keep our our group thriving and continuing for another 10 years, moving forward.

[A]

Right. And this is one of the many events that you do. You have tons of events throughout the year.

[B]

Yes, we do social events throughout the year. We meet at restaurants, we've met at bars, we've gone to the beach, done pool parties. Anything that brings community together and gives our participants a chance to do something aside from just walking and running, something a little bit different. It has built a family and I feel that when I'm there every time on Monday and Thursday and we hear feedback from the group that they feel the same way. And Night Runners. We are a 501c3 nonprofit and so we do have a board of directors who are very involved in every Monday and Thursday walk and run as well as the 5K. And there's a lot of effort that goes into everything that we do, a lot of creativity and group work that goes into all of these things. And we couldn't do it without our board of directors, directors and all of our volunteers who participate throughout the year.

[A]

I love this Rudolph. We are really looking forward to the 6th annual Pride 5K. What are the logistics? One more time. The date, the time, the location, all

[B]

that Saturday, June 27th at 6:30pm we encourage people to get there early to pick up your packet or just to make sure that you find parking. It's a 5k distance along Flagler Drive and we start and finish right at the waterfront. So anybody who's interested, we encourage to check out our website, nightrunnerswpb.com $45. It will go up to $50 a few weeks leading up to the race, so the sooner the better. Feel free to reach out to us through our website, nightrunnerswpb.com send us an email. We'll be sure to get back to you.