Our History
Run for God Founder Mitchell Hollis began running in 2007 and quickly became hooked. By 2008, he had completed a marathon and was signing up for every race he could get his hands on, no matter the distance.
After a few years of this, Mitchell realized that running had become an idol for him and that he was putting running before his faith. He felt convicted and knew that he had two options: Give up a sport that he loved, or use running to further God’s kingdom.
The first thing Mitchell did was have some t-shirts made with a “funny-looking stick man” on them that read “Run for God.” Mitchell began wearing these shirts whenever he ran. The shirt made people ask questions and presented opportunities for Mitchell to tell his story.
While sharing his story with others, Mitchell discovered that there were a lot of people who were interested in running but didn’t know how to get started. Feeling God working in his heart, Mitchell started a 12-week class at his church that taught people to run while making connections between endurance and faith.
Other churches in the community heard about the class and asked Mitchell to teach the class to others. The program gradually grew, and before Mitchell knew it, God had helped him write, design, and publish The 5K Challenge so that others could begin teaching the Run for God 5K Challenge.
Today, Run for God is much more than that very first class. Having been taught in over 4500 communities Run for God has become not only a tool for nonrunners to enter the sport, but it's become a community of runners of all abilities. It was because of this community that RunClub was formed. Will you join us?