Chasing Trail

Sundays 8:30 Am at the Valley Green Inn

On January 2, 2015, I created a new group on Facebook. This group started out as a way to organize random runs in the Wissahickon, consisting of friends from November Project Philadelphia. From the beginning, the mission was of the utmost importance. Chasing Trail was formed by Chris Meredith, Wesley Celestino, and myself. Invite runners to the trail and make sure no one gets lost. To this day that mission stands true.

The name Chasing Trail was created after being notified that it could not be called NP_TrailRunners. I remember the night laying in bed writing names down on a piece of paper. I wrote such unoriginal names like TheWisRuns and Wissahickon Trail runners and The Trail Project. Then it hit me after talking with the girl I had just started seriously chasing. The last name written on the paper stuck with the other leaders… We changed the name of the Facebook group the following day to Chasing Trail.

Runs would pop up on a Saturday or Sunday as we spoke with our friends. If we were able to get more than 5 people to take out for a run in the woods. In 2015 we solidified the day and time of our weekly runs to Sundays at 8:30 am. We also made our meeting place at the Valley Green Inn. Occasional runs would pop up like night runs, movie nights, bus rides to races. The popularity of Chasing Trail really took off once we set up meetings every week. Now we partner with our local running store Philadelphia Runner and with Nuun Hydration to put on events and show off the latest shoes, apparel, and hydration. Keep an eye out for shoe demos and to try some Nuun once we can meet on Sunday’s again.

The Wissahickon Valley Park

The Wissahickon Valley Park (the Wiss) is located on the northwestern edge of Philadelphia. Quoting the Friends of the Wissahickon, there are over 50 miles of trail in the system. I would beg to differ, but factually this park is one of the biggest and best in Fairmount Park. There is a parking lot accessible from the Wises Mill entrance to the park. There are two parking lots available from the Valley Green Rd entrance. As a group, Chasing Trail brings runners of all levels out to the singletrack trails of the Wissahickon. What is singletrack? Take a look at the picture to the left. Do you see how everyone is in a single line? We are on singletrack in this picture.

I see many things above a single line of runners making their way through some singletrack. There is a community of runners here. There is an urban beauty that you can see nowhere else. And above all, I see friendship. While being responsible and social distancing I miss this the most. I have the honor and duty of keeping the mission of Chasing Trail going strong. I am honored to be a part of this community.

How to join us

On Sunday mornings starting from the Valley Green Inn you will find Chasing Trail ready to go run 5-ish miles. Until COVID 19 you would see our group ready to go at 8:30 AM. We currently are not meeting but follow us on social media to see how we are engaging with our community. Our leaders have changed over the years, and each week you could see different people there ready to guide you. However, be sure to know that our mission has not changed. Once we are back to our regularly scheduled runs, we invite you to come run the trails. We promise you won’t get lost. Be sure to arrive early as parking can be a little tough. Introduce yourself to a leader and get ready for a fun run within the Philadelphia City limits. Yes, you are still in Philadelphia.