A running group in Oakland is on a mission to get people out the door early in the mornings. The incentives: community, easy miles, good conversation, sweet treats—and plenty of fun.
Called the Lake Merritt Donut Runners, the group meets every Friday at 7 a.m. in Snow Park, rain or shine, for a lap around Lake Merritt followed by doughnuts.
“What people have told me they like about the Donut Run is that it’s consistent,” says Paul Yee, co-organizer of Lake Merritt Donut Runners. “It’s at the same place and the same time — and it’s a moment to connect.”
What began as an impromptu outing among three friends has grown into a ritual for dozens of runners.
On April 15, 2022, Ed Nanale and married couple Kelly Kearney Casendino and Alex Casendino of the Oakland running club Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders had wrapped up a track workout at Witter Field in Piedmont. To celebrate, they went to Timeless Coffee & Bakery for doughnuts.
“They decided, ‘This is fun. Let’s do it again,’” says Yee, who joined them the following week.
Nanale, the Casendinos, Yee and others soon turned their runs into a standing tradition, looping Lake Merritt before ending at a nearby bakery. It was a good fit for their marathon training schedules, which included Saturday long runs.
“It was very organic and not intended to be a running group by any means,” says Yee. “Then it started to build.”
Over three years later, the Lake Merritt Donut Runners average about 40 people per Friday run, with participation continuing to grow seasonally. On the fitness app Strava, the group boasts over 160 members.
Every run, the group forms a large circle — or doughnut — in the meeting spot. They take turns introducing themselves, do a quick icebreaker and pose for a group photo. A designated leader decides if they’ll head clockwise or counterclockwise around the lake, and then off they go.
Post-lake lap, the group stops at a nearby Happy Donuts or another spot for sweets. On occasion, they’ll have doughnuts and coffee awaiting them in the park, courtesy of a LMDR member.
“It’s a nice moment, and it usually starts the weekend vibes, right before it [the weekend] actually happens,” says Yee.
Many Donut Runners are marathoners, but the group is diverse, with some training for a 5K, 10K or half marathon; others simply running for the joy of it. All people, all paces and all running-related intentions are welcome.
“It’s really inspiring to see how people can connect with running in a way that’s accessible and not intimidating, because it is a little intimidating when you first join a running club, especially if everyone’s intense,” says Yee. “I think Donut Runners is a nice onramp to wherever your running journey takes you.”
In an LMDR Instagram post, Amy Kalkstein from Alameda details the positive impact the group has had on her life — and on her perception of running.
Before joining LMDR, she’d given some “couch to 5K and 10K” app-based programs a try, opting to hop on a treadmill because she felt uneasy about getting in the miles outdoors. When her friend Annemarie Henning invited her to a doughnut run, it literally changed her running course.
“I kept showing up [on] Friday mornings, even in the dark and cold,” says Kalkstein.
LMDR members encouraged her to sign up for the LMJS training program for the Oakland Half Marathon. She did — and she crossed the finish line of the 13.1-mile race in March.
In a video clip, she conveys that she now can’t imagine Fridays without LMDR: “You have changed me so much in a year by getting me outside my comfort zone,” she says.
Signs that group members have fun include doughnut-themed hats, socks, shorts and official T-shirts picturing a sprinkle doughnut with a Lake Merritt-shaped hole. Some runners go all out, wearing doughnut inner tubes around their waists.
It’s never about “earning” or “deserving” a doughnut after the lap around the lake. It’s more about what the pastry represents.
“Doughnuts are fun. They’re colorful. They have sprinkles,” says Yee. “They’re celebratory — something you can enjoy.”
They also complement a certain group of people known for tenacity, resilience, exactness and quirks: runners.
“To run early mornings in bad weather or for many miles, we have our obsessions,” he says. “Doughnuts embody a lot of our personalities and are part of our culture.”
To join the Lake Merrit Donut Runners Strava group, go here.
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