Run With Christ (RWC) officially launched its first Mississippi chapter at the University of Mississippi on Aug. 29. More than 100 people gathered to run and listen to Christian teachings.
Will Garinger founded RWC in Columbus, Ohio, in 2024 to foster a faith- and fitness-centered community. RWC now has chapters in over 100 cities across five countries.
The city director of RWC at Ole Miss is Cole Dorsey, a junior real estate major from Baltimore. In an interview with The Daily Mississippian, he spoke about bringing RWC to the university.
“I had recently started following Jesus over the summer and was hungry for community — especially one that gathered on the weekends,” Dorsey said. “Early in my sophomore year, I found that other Christian communities on campus were great for helping me feel grounded at the beginning of the week.”
While Dorsey had good experiences with other Christian communities on campus, he felt there was a lack of community during the weekend.
“By the time Saturday came around, I often found myself facing the temptations of the weekend without a community to walk alongside me,” Dorsey said. “Saturdays in Oxford became full of fear instead of fun. I had seen Run With Christ on Instagram and felt that there was a real need for something like it in Oxford.”
RWC’s goal is to bring people of all running and walking abilities together for a devotional, prayer, fellowship and a 5K run or a 3K walk. Dorsey utilized his Christian community to build a team that was ready to bring the organization to Oxford.
“Throughout the rest of the school year, I began finding the community I had been searching for,” Dorsey said. “I surrounded myself with other people who were following Jesus, and I watched the Lord provide the relationships I needed. Finding that community did not lessen my desire to start Run With Christ; it strengthened my conviction. I invited people from that community to join the leadership team and help carry the vision of welcoming others into a life lived for the glory of God.”
RWC assistant city director and junior accountancy major Eli Griggs worked alongside Dorsey to bring RWC to campus.
“I love the running aspect of it all,” Griggs said. “I also love Jesus — those are two of my favorite things. (I enjoy) bringing the community together and using a run club as a vessel to bring people to Jesus, to help strengthen their relationship with Jesus.”
Dorsey and Griggs hope that RWC is more than just a run club.
“The vision for Run With Christ Ole Miss is much bigger than a weekly run,” Dorsey said. “With the help of others and the guidance of God, we hope to create more opportunities, host more events and reach more people — all with the hope that they will encounter the same love that once transformed my life.”
Kate Bolio is a junior integrated marketing communications major from Colorado Springs, Colo., who is optimistic about the RWC’s community.
“I’ve only been to two of RWC’s runs so far, and I’ve still been able to witness the incredible community that it is building,” Bolio said. “There is direct correlation in this community to the community talked about in Scripture. These people are willing to invite Jesus into a simple run, while also pushing each other to do difficult things.”
