Huge part of man's life he now shares with people across the city
A man who started running in lockdown is now joined by a community of people
The group meets every Wednesday evening to run five kilometres in 30 minutes. Setting off from The Baltic Triangle, the runners are accompanied by music, infectious warmth, and feel-good energy. Now, you might be thinking, surely that’s no different from the rest of the clubs Liverpool has to offer.
But as founder Nadeem Freeman tells me, it is the group’s core message that sets them apart. The 28-year-old, who lives in the Baltic Triangle, told the ECHO: “We’re not a running club; we don’t have a membership. We are a community, an open space where everyone can come to run, and it's at the heart of it all the time.
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“We do things differently. We always run with music, and that’s where the name of the group comes from - being on the dance floor, dancing, being around others and having a good time. We conveyed this feeling into running.”
Like many, Nadeem started running during lockdown to help with his mental health and to pass the time. He said it helped him massively whilst he was studying for his management music and events degree at Paul McCartney’s LIPA. The photographer explained how he loved the endorphin hit running gave him, and he wanted to share this with others.
He said: “Being in the Baltic, I just wanted to run with friends, and it literally grew from there. It was simple, really. More and more people just kept turning up, and now we have this community. When we started after lockdown, there were only a few of us, all friends, and since then, we’ve opened the doors to so many more people and have just kept growing.
“It’s a huge part of my life, and I absolutely love it, and seeing others love it as well is amazing. To see what we’ve created be shared with so many people all over the city is amazing. I’m not from a traditional space of running, so trying to engage with all different types of people is important for representation.”
2-Step Collective is showing no signs of slowing down with its numbers as it prepares to celebrate its fourth birthday in November. However, for now, the group have been focusing on educating whilst clocking the miles with their Black History Run Tours.
Alongside historian Lawrence Westgaph and in partnership with New Balance, the route includes stops at The Bluecoat and St John’s Gardens, where runners learn about Liverpool's impact on Black British history. The last of these runs will be taking place on Wednesday, October 23 but weekly meet-ups will still continue following this.