Published July 15, 2025

Every Monday and Saturday, in the heart of Orlando, a movement gathers, laced up in sneakers, purpose, unity and undeniable grit. What began as a casual meet-up between friends has transformed into Grit Running Orlando, affectionately shortened to GRO, a dynamic, Black-led, community-centric running club that's rewriting the narrative of who belongs on the pavement.

When Deante Fields first stumbled across GRO on Facebook in early 2024, he showed up on a Saturday morning without knowing a soul. Now, he’s one of the club’s pace leaders and community connectors. “From day one, they welcomed me with open arms,” he says. “Now I’m a leader and it’s about making sure everyone, from the fastest runner to the newest walker, feels like they belong.”

Inclusivity is the very rhythm of the group. Whether you’re an ultramarathoner, someone just getting back on your feet, or a parent pushing a stroller, there’s a pace group and a place for you.

“Showing up is half the battle,” Deante told The Orlando Life. “We’re all here to sweat, to grow, to struggle a little… and to have fun.”

For founder Frenchy Fitt, GRO was born from a cultural gap in the running world. “I noticed running was big in other cultures, but not in ours,” he says. “So I wanted to create a space where minority communities, especially Black people, felt like they belonged. We needed something positive in the city.”

And positive it is. With music pulsing from portable speakers, leaders calling out encouragement and laughter echoing through downtown routes, the atmosphere feels more like a block party with sneakers than a competitive training ground.

“Run clubs can be intimidating,” says Frenchy. “You go online and see all these six-packs and marathon medals… but not here. At GRO, you see every kind of body, every kind of background. No judgment. Just family.”

The name Grit Running Orlando came first, then the nickname GRO emerged naturally. Together, the acronyms reflect the duality of the experience: the mental toughness to show up and the personal growth that follows.

“Grit is what gets you through when you want to give up,” Frenchy explains. “And growth? That’s what happens when you keep showing up.” That duality is echoed in the story of JR Rhymes, a leadership team member who joined GRO shortly after returning to Orlando from Philadelphia. Bringing operational insight from his previous run club experiences, JR helped evolve the infrastructure. His goal? “To create space that centers everyone, especially the people who don’t usually feel seen,” he says.

When designing routes, “We always think about the moms with strollers,” JR adds. “If they can get through it, we know we’ve made space for everybody.”