Fort Worth coffee shop turns into meetup spot for local runners: Meet the Ampersand Running Club
FORT WORTH – When Ampersand Coffee owners Huy Vu and Michael Ferrari Le signed up for the Cowtown Marathon, they knew they needed to start training.
"Ampersand was our meetup spot to start training," Vu said. "And over time, it kind of just grew into what you see it is today."
"We would, you know, drink coffee, drink tea, whatever we like and then just use that energy, that caffeine, to kind of just give us that boost to just start making a run for it," Le said.
Their training runs quickly started getting attention.
"People walked by and asked what we're doing and they would ask us to join us to run," Vu said. "We just provided a starting location for them, and it just took off."
"It was pretty much like lightning in a bottle," Le said.
Within a few months, their training sessions grew from 10 runners to 50 runners, then 100 runners and now some days, more than 500 runners.
The runs now have an official group name, the Ampersand Running Club.
Van Gregory Grinnon began running with the group last year.
"I feel...free," Grinnon said. "I feel grateful that I'm able to run again. I just feel like sometimes not stopping really and I feel like it is just where I want to be."
Grinnon has been a double amputee for three years and was looking for a way to stay active when he joined for his first run last October.
"I don't consider myself special or anything," Grinnon said. "I'm just out here trying to you know, do it just like everybody else. It's about the health, it's about the camaraderie, and just staying active."
He said he immediately felt welcomed by the Ampersand Running Club.
"I don't feel like they treat me as an amputee or anything," he said. "It's just all genuine. It's all genuine. I love them seriously. I love them to death. They're a bunch of youngsters, but that's okay and alright with me."
Vu and Le said Ampersand Running Club is about more than running.
"We encourage people to actually meet new people, exchange names, social media accounts, whatever it is," Le said.
"It's created a platform for people and a hub for people to come together and connect," Vu said.
The running club is also free to join.
"We are making no money," Le said. "We're actually losing money. But it's not for profit. I think ultimately, it's more than that. It's beyond that."
The Ampersand Running Club meets three days a week at Ampersand Coffee at 3009 Bledsoe St, Fort Worth, TX 76107. They meet every Monday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7 a.m.
Find more information from the Ampersand Running Club on Instagram or Facebook.