Fitness is a big part of the running scene in Berks County, but there is much more to it than that. It’s a tight-knit community, filled with a wide range of participants who celebrate each other’s accomplishments.
Feeling stressed from her job, Sheri Golembiewski sought a way to improve her physical and mental health. When her sister-in-law took up running, the Robesonia resident also decided to put her best foot forward.
She ventured into organized running about a decade ago, attending some Thirsty Thursday 5K races organized by Pretzel City Sports, the county’s go-to race organizing and timing group. Along with discovering a productive way to manage stress, she found a community.
“I met this awesome group of people who were all doing the same thing,” she says. “And once you do one race you say, well, can I do another one, and how far can I go? And I realized as I was doing these things physically that I was much stronger than I thought I was mentally, so it was a big confidence booster.”
Since that initial foray, Golembiewski has logged some significant distances, including multiple 50K races (about 31 miles). She also started working part time for Pretzel City Sports and organized the Plowing Over Pumpkins 5K, held the Saturday after Thanksgiving at Cocalico High School in Lancaster County. The event, now in its seventh year, benefits 4 Girls on a Mission, the nonprofit started by Golembiewski and three friends to help people in need.
Her transformative experience speaks to the strength of the running scene in Berks County, a community that is part trainer, part coach, part therapist, part social coordinator.
“I don’t even know who my friends were before I started running,” says Michelle Henry, “because they’re the people I hang out with all the time.”
Henry is the former president and a current board member at Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club, the county’s longest-running running club, and is also involved with one of its newest clubs, Trail Sisters Berks County, which is aimed at female trail runners.
“Whatever your relationship is with running — some people are doing it for fitness, some people are more into the social aspect of it, some people are really competitive — however you want to engage with it, you can find a group,” says Matthew Brophy, Pagoda Pacers’ newsletter editor.
Timing with a Twist
With a few exceptions, competitive races in Berks start and end, quite literally, with Pretzel City Sports.
Also a former Pagoda Pacers president, Ron Horn parlayed his experience directing races in the 1980s to launch the company in 1996.
Its website features an exhaustive list of race applications/online registrations along with results from every Pretzel City-timed race over the last decade. Horn also curates offbeat email blasts, featuring information about upcoming races interspersed with commentary and dirty jokes.
Along with providing timing services, Pretzel City offers resources to race directors, such as checklists, names of runners and addresses for running stores and running clubs in the region.
Though he has tallied an impressive resume of achievements, including over a dozen marathons and eight ultramarathons, Horn surprisingly says he’s never enjoyed running.
“I say that knowing that some of the happiest days in my life were achieving a certain race distance or something like that,” he says. “But I was never built to run. I was a defensive end in football in high school and took up running to lose weight. That said, I recognize running as the best workout you can get in the least amount of time.”
“...I recognize running as the best workout you can get in the least amount of time.”
After its founding, the company’s responsibilities steadily increased, maxing out in 2018 when it timed 450 races. COVID reined that in, and today it times about 250, including 22 that it also organizes. Horn’s crew of three dozen handles about 90 percent of the races in Berks, about 50 percent of the races in Lancaster County and intermittent events throughout the state.
When asked to name his favorite races, Horn mentioned some of the more extreme offerings: two clothing-optional events — “those are so much fun and they’re so bizarre” — and the Labor Pain 12-Hour Endurance Trail Run.
“We see people run distances that they never could have imagined before,” he says.
Not only are there multiple formal races nearly every weekend of the year in Berks, there are just as many informal group runs.
Fleet Feet West Reading, a specialty store for runners and walkers, is one of the biggest area organizers of group runs. It holds 3- to 5-mile jaunts every Thursday night, every Saturday morning, the second Friday of each month and on special occasions like Global Running Day.
“They’re not races; they’re not training runs; they’re social runs,” says General Manager Jason Corby. “We look out for everybody and we share in each other’s accomplishments. And afterward, it’s like a social gathering and a networking opportunity.”
Pagoda Pacers does a bit of both. It organizes numerous competitive events annually, including the Shiver by the River winter series, created by Horn in the 1980s. But it also holds weekly group runs. Brophy utilized the group’s long-running Wednesday night run to become acquainted with Berks after moving here in 2015.
“As someone new to the area, that was great because we run in a different spot every week, and I learned all these new places to run,” he says. “I got a running tour of the county just by showing up every Wednesday.”
Targeting the Next Generations
Horn expressed concern about younger runners, noting that the under-30 groups are often not well-represented at Pretzel City races.
Paul Redford, the founder of Nemesis Fitness, is doing his part to rectify that imbalance. His organization aims to expand and diversify the makeup of the running community, centering its events around the Reading/West Reading corridor.
“The running scene has grown drastically over the last three years, and it’s definitely becoming more diverse,” he says. “I didn’t feel like it was something that the inner-city people had at first. And that’s what made me want to do this more. That’s what made me want to run in West Reading in the first place, to kind of shift the image of the city.”
Nemesis organizes three free 5Ks a year: one on Cinco de Mayo, a color run in the summer and a glow run in October. It also organizes group runs on Sundays and Tuesdays and partners with Fleet Feet for a Thursday night run. The first glow run in 2020 drew about 100 people. Last year’s attracted more than 1,000.
“We do free events because we want to make sure that it’s accessible for everybody,” he says. “Most of the runners who come to our events are first-timers.”
Free food and refreshments are offered at the events thanks to the generosity of local businesses. Shoes are also handed out, thanks to a partnership with Puma. Last year, Nemesis donated 300 pairs of shoes.
Redford’s efforts led to the dedication of Nemesis Way on the corner of Sixth and Penn streets in Reading.
“I love it because it empowers the community,” Redford says. “It’s not like I built this. No, the community built this, because without them we wouldn’t be as big, and it wouldn’t be what it is.”
The Greater Good
The running community doesn’t just come together for each other; it comes together for others. Race entrance fees and sponsorships often benefit nonprofits, charities or foundations.
Fitzy’s Halloween 5K, one of the county’s most popular races, was born out of tragedy. Lauren Fitzgerald, a 20-year-old Wyomissing High School graduate, died in July 2005 after a 14-month battle with brain cancer. A few months later, the family found the strength to stage a 5K in her honor.
Originally held at Happy Hollow Playground in Wyomissing where Michael Fitzgerald took his daughter to play countless times, it has continued to grow. Today, it commences a few blocks away at the Stone House with roughly 500 runners and walkers, many in costume, partaking in the Halloween weekend event each year, timed to pay tribute to Lauren’s Oct. 31 birthday. This year’s running will be its 20th.
The race raises about 90 percent of the funds for the Lauren Fitzgerald Foundation, including sponsorships and donations, according to Michael. Counting last year’s payouts, the foundation has awarded more than $114,000 in scholarships for Berks high school seniors. It also assists families with seriously or terminally ill children.
The continued success of the event and the camaraderie of those in attendance never ceases to amaze Lauren’s father.
“I have such immense pride and gratitude looking around and realizing all the pieces that are necessary for this thing to happen,” he says, crediting all the members of the family for helping to get the event off the ground. “All the sponsors that give willingly of their money and the runners that pay money to register for the run, I just look at that and say, ‘My gosh, this is so incredible."
Getting Started
Beginning to run or trying to get back in shape, especially later in life, can feel daunting. It’s important to ease into things, not only to prevent discouragement but to prevent injuries.
“Don’t be afraid to walk,” says Corbin of Fleet Feet, which was recently named one of the Top 50 Running Stores in America for the second year in a row at The Running Event, a specialty retail conference and trade show. “Intervals are a great way to start — run for two minutes, walk for a minute and then progress from there. Also, there’s a rule of 10 percent. Don’t try to do 10 percent more than what you did the previous week. That’s a good way to prevent injury.”
But most importantly, Henry of the Pagoda Pacers says, just walk out the door and try it.
“Because you never know,” she says. “You could hate it, but I bet you’ll love it. Especially when you really start to get to know the running community in this area. They’re such a generous and supportive group. Make the friends and the connections. And don’t give up.”
