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“So, rather than considering wellness a luxury or a vanity pursuit, the Southeast Side community is embracing the principle and growing healthier and stronger together.”

Vaqueros Run Club at Colibrí Coffee on August 13, 2026, 3639 E. 106th St.

📸: Ermina Veljačić
Photos also provided by Vaqueros Run Club and Hegewisch Nutrition
✍️: Ermina Veljačić

Read more in the link in our bio.

Owner Jesse Diaz at Hegewisch Nutrition on August 8, 2026, 13320 S. Baltimore Ave.

Photo courtesy of Vaqueros Run Club

Photo courtesy of Hegewisch Nutrition
Pilates class led by instructor David Martinez at Hegewisch Nutrition on October 26, 2025, 13320 S. Baltimore Ave.

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Growing up on the Southeast Side, opening windows on warm days often meant petcoke blowing in, a thick black dust from local oil refining. It wasn’t until I was in my late 20s that I learned the Southeast Side was once one of the Midwest’s largest steel producers. But by the 1990s, following major plant closures, the community had been ravaged, economically by the loss of jobs and environmentally by industrial pollution. Metal scrapyards and landfills released more waste, chemicals, and toxic emissions as years went on, while countless studies found that community members suffered increased asthma attacks, respiratory illnesses, and high cancer rates as a result.

As environmental justice activism remains steadfast, run clubs, gyms, and other spaces prioritizing health and wellness are emerging as the next phase of the movement to build a healthier East Side.

Hegewisch Nutrition and Vaqueros Run Club aren’t buying into weight loss gimmicks or encouraging quick fixes for physical appearance. They were birthed to invest in their community, particularly a community resisting environmental injustice. On the Southeast Side, activists have had to assert their community’s right to clean air through long marches, hunger strikes, and other tactics that can take a grueling toll on the body. Wellness spaces can help people strengthen their physical stamina and support mental and emotional endurance. As writer and civil rights activist Audre Lorde once said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

✍️: Ermina Veljačić (@erminaverse)
📸: Ermina Veljačić

Photos also provided by Vaqueros Run Club (@vaqueros.rc) and Hegewisch Nutrition (@hegewisch_nutrition_)

Read more in the link in bio.

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Fairies just wanna have fun🧚🏼🧚🏽‍♀️ @vaqueros.rc @ddjeddie #runclub #halloween #dj #party #fairies

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Today was a morning full of energy!!! Started it off with barre and ended it with a 2.50 mile run 💫💫🧑‍🩰🏃‍♀️

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@vaqueros.rc at mile 21 was straight out of a music video and I felt like a 🌟 @chimarathon #marathon #chicago #runclub #cheer #run

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Y llego la Banda!!!!

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Ajuaaa!!!

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Feeling grateful that I get to run through all of Chicago tomorrow for the third time! #chicagomarathon2026

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Marathon shakeout run with my favorite run club @vaqueros.rc 🤠❤️‍🔥 #chicago #marathon #runclub #fyp #trending

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#chicago #marathon #fyp #running

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✨Hello Runners!✨

We hope your training is going well!
With the Chicago Marathon just around the corner, we’d love to know if any of our club members are participating. If you’re running this year, please send us a message with your bib number and a picture of yourself. This way, we can cheer you on and track your incredible progress on race day. Your dedication and hard work inspire us all, and we can’t wait to support you every step of the way!

If you aren’t running and would love to cheer on your fellow members you have two options!

Swip for details 👉🏼

⭐️1- Join us at the marathon!
We will be cheering on 219 Run Club and Vaqueros members at mile 21!
Below is the information for the meetup.
Message us if you have any other questions!

⭐️2-We will make a separate post with all bib numbers if you’d like to track them virtually.

We hope that this day will be fun, inspiring and memorable for everyone running and spectating! See you there! 😎

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It’s Chicago marathon week bby 👟🌸💗🏃🏽‍♀️✨ @chimarathon #chicago #marathon #girlswhorun #bedazzling #fyp

5k

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