SALEM — A new weekly running club started by two Salem natives is inviting new and experienced runners to connect with the community at an upcoming “adult field day” at Bertram Field.
The Hours of Indigo adult running club began in June when Salem residents Lucas Dominguez and Treston Abreu were looking for a way to experience the same sense of camaraderie and friendly competition they felt growing up with youth sports.
“Our whole lives we played sports, and always connected through that,” Dominguez said. “After high school, there was never a space where we could come together and connect, or just have that sense of community, and we were longing for that. That’s the reason why we started this run club.”
The name “Hours of Indigo” references when Dominguez and Abreu were working long hours at a restaurant, with the only hours available to work out being either early in the morning or late at night — hours of the day when the sky is a deep blue or indigo color.
Now averaging around 50 people per run, the group typically meets every Monday at 6:15 p.m., running from Salem Common to the Willows. The group welcomes all paces of runners, with the focus of the runs being to connect community members.
“Every time we ask somebody to come they say, ‘I’m not a big runner,’ but we always advocate that it’s more of a community thing,” Dominguez said. “The run club is just how we get people to meet.”
While the group is open to all ages, there is a specific emphasis on providing local youths with an outlet outside of school events to meet others and stay active. Although there is overlap with other local groups such as Wicked Running Club, with members of each group attending the other’s events, Hours of Indigo is intended to serve as another outlet for Salem’s youth.
“As kids, we always looked up to people that gave back to us, so we wanted to have a heavy youth community to give them a place outside of school events,” Dominguez said. “Because growing up, me and my cofounder, we actually hated running, which is kind of ironic.
“We despised going to practice every time we were doing sprints, and we were always the last two runners. But later we found therapy in it, and wanted to share that with other kids who are maybe struggling with their sports.”
With growing popularity, the group is now engaged in sponsorships with companies such as Red Bull, Lululemon, Lifetime Fitness, Nuun Hydration to provide giveaways and prizes at organized events.
In June, Hours of Indigo hosted a special event in partnership with Lululemon, with giveaways of the company’s Pace Breaker shorts and Define jacket. With the ability to now connect with more brands, Dominguez and Abreu are looking forward to a larger event with free product samples, giveaways, and opportunities for event winners to donate to a charity of their choice.
The next get-together, to be held on Saturday, Aug. 15, from 1-4 p.m. at Bertram Field, will include events such as a 4×100 meter relay and a fastest 1-mile race, along with activities like spike ball, flag football, tug of war, sack races, bracelet making stations, and an all-day fitness challenge.
Winners of select competitions will also have the opportunity to choose a charity to receive a donation.
“It’s our take on an ‘adult field day,’” Dominguez said. “For us, anytime after fifth grade, we didn’t have a field day, which were always the most fun days of the year for us. So we wanted to do that and give that same feeling again to the community.
“We’re going to have a big giveaway from different brands, and we’ll be giving to charities.”
Throughout the day, attendees will receive free products and giveaways.
Red Bull will be providing a DJ booth, complimentary Red Bull, and merchandise. Clean Cut Studios is planning to offer free haircuts, while Inkperial will be raffling off a free tattoo, coupled with giveaways and activations from our other partners.
More information about the event and future activities can be found on Hours of Indigo’s Instagram page at instagram.com/hoirunclub/.
Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202