Who Are We?
Ope Athletic Club is a Midwest-based running collective united by our love of racing and running through all phases of life. From the roads to the trails to the mill, and everything in between, we’re dedicated to creating a community and support system for each other.
Motivation
Our goal with Ope is to create a community and support system for people who love racing. Our team provides a place where members can go to each other for advice, plan meetups, or even racing together! Whether that means just engaging within the various chats we have or letting us know how racing, running, and life outside of running are going, Ope exists as a place for community across various walks of life. We understand how tough it is to stay motivated, especially during long training blocks. Our hope is that having a community behind you helps provide that extra push, whether that is to stay motivated when times get hard or to get to the starting line knowing you’ll have some of your Ope teammates there too!
Locations
Our team exists primarily as an online community, with members throughout the following cities:
- Ohio: Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati
- Michigan: Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids
- Illinois: Chicago
- Kansas/MO: Kansas City Metro
- Minnesota: Twin Cities Metro + Iron Range
- Nebraska: Omaha
Ope Athletic Club is looking to add members throughout other Midwest cities as well!
Disciplines and Distances
The team itself is made up of athletes of all talent levels and specialties. Over the years, we’ve had athletes compete over a variety of distances and disciplines including but not limited to:
- Track
- Roads
- Trails
- Ultramarathon
- Triathlon
Core Values
Community – Inclusivity – Growth – Respect – Joy
Our values are realized when all Ope members have a voice and are encouraged to contribute. Community, inclusion, growth, respect, and joy are an active process and require a commitment both to these values and to each other.
We are a community that cares deeply about each other and the sport. As such, we believe that the running community must be a place that is free from discrimination and other behaviors that cause deliberate harm. We have a zero-tolerance policy for racist, homophobic, transphobic, or misogynistic language and behaviors, and members exercising these will be banned from Ope.