MILWAUKEE — Clint Myrick started running a few years ago. Like many, he started out slow. 

What You Need To Know

  • FEAR Milwaukee started in 2014 

  • The goal is to make running more inclusive and safer Black men and women

  • Anyone of any race, age, gender, or ability can run with the group

  • The group runs Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings

Myrick’s main goal was a common one: He wanted to get in shape. 

“I was trying to lose weight; I was about 40 pounds heavier,” Myrick said. “I never liked running. I was seeing my friends, I was trying to lose weight, and it was just a cool thing to do.”

He started running with FEAR Milwaukee. He said having a group to run with helped hold him accountable to his goals and made running a bit more fun. 

Myrick said he feels safer running with a group, too. 

“I feel like FEAR makes it safe. Just us being together makes it better to run,” Myrick said. 

That’s the entire goal of FEAR Milwaukee — which stands for "Forget Everything and Run."

Organizers started the group seven years ago to help Black men and women feel safe while running. 

“It’s very scary to think that just being Black is a threat,” said Tenia Fisher, head lead captain of FEAR Milwaukee. 

Fisher said those concerns have always been around, but were thrust into the national spotlight in 2020 when Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed while jogging in Georgia. 

"We should be able to run freely and run openly in any community and we are looked at like our white counterparts in that we look like we’re going out for a run,” Fisher said. "It should never be thought of that we are doing something sneaky or dangerous or stealing, or anything like that.”

Fisher said the group’s message is working. More people are joining them on their runs, which happen twice a week. 

Similar groups have also started to pop up in other cities and states. 

“My motto is always, ‘I want to change the world through running,' and we are literally doing it this year,” Fisher said. "We’re doing it. We’re changing the world by running.”

No matter your skin color, age or ability, Fisher believes you can join in on changing the world by putting one foot in front of the other. 

FEAR Milwaukee runs at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays in Estabrook Park and Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. at Atwater Park. For more information, click here.