99 Bottles’ Run Club Is About Much More Than Fitness

It’s 6 p.m. on a Wednesday and the temperature is nearing 90 degrees—one of those days when the heat is bearing down on you from above and radiating up from the asphalt at the same time. Most sane people are hiding from the sun, and the streets crisscrossing downtown are mostly empty, but on Second Street, about 60 people dressed in neon sports gear and wearing flashy Hoka sneakers have gathered outside the popular beer and wine bar 99 Bottles. They aren’t lining up for a beer tasting or a band performance—they’re here for run club.

Dylan Hauri, 99 Bottles’ bar manager, is holding a piece of paper and addressing the group. He reminds them about the route and instructs them to “not play Frogger” by stepping off the sidewalks and into traffic. “This is a fun run,” he concludes. “I don’t give a fuck about your P.R.”

The group laughs and, moments later, begins running west toward Selby Public Library. They will run halfway across the Ringling Causeway before returning to the bar for a complimentary can of Liquid Death.

On a blazing hot day, amid all the stress of our busy lives, why do people do it? “People stay after they run their 5K,” Hauri tells me. “They hang out for two to three hours, which is great for business and great for the community. These people want to spend time together.”

I’m a Sarasota transplant myself, and when I moved to town in 2021, 99 Bottles’ run club gave me a place to meet new friends in real life, which has become harder as more people turn to their phones for connection.

“It’s always better to meet people in person!” Meg Sanders, 33, says when I ask what brought her out for the first time. “When you go to the gym, you get in the zone and don’t typically speak to other people. Run club is the opposite. It encourages you to socialize, meet new people and even grab a beer together afterward.”

Sanders adds that she had heard run club referred to as Sarasota’s “new dating app,” a way to meet a potential partner, but participants come for all kinds of reasons.

Aldo Mariano Castro, 31, was invited by a friend who didn’t want to go
alone. “At first, I said absolutely not, because the idea of running in 90-plus degree weather didn’t sound appealing or fun,” he says. “But, being the good friend that I am, I eventually said yes.” He has run with the club several times now and enjoys it, especially because of what he calls the “genuine, inclusive community.”

“No matter what kind of runner you are, everybody is welcome,” Castro says. “I love seeing people of all ages and backgrounds coming together and being active.”

While the multitude of breweries and bars hosting exercise-based events now seems obvious, it wasn’t that way 12 years ago, when 99 Bottles owner Mark Tuchman was first pitched the idea by a customer at Mr. Beery’s, the bar he previously owned in Gulf Gate and sold in 2015. “The first time we did it, we had four participants,” he says. “Over the years, it grew exponentially.” In November 2022, Tuchman brought the concept to 99 Bottles. The first week, the bar had 15 participants. These days, run club can bring out as many as 120 people.

Karissa Escobosa, 33, has been part of run clubs for over a decade and came to 99 Bottles’ as a way to make new friends in a new city. “I didn’t have many friends and I was hoping to meet new people, since all my closest friends and family lived on the other side of the country,” says Escobosa, who arrived in Sarasota by way of San Diego and Hawaii. She loves hanging out with her friends and getting her run in for the day. “I always leave with my cup so full,” she says. “It is for sure the highlight of my week.”

Downtown residents and business owners tell Tuchman he’s bringing life to Second Street, and the club has been so successful that Hauri and Tuchman are planning to expand the program to include other active events aimed at bringing the community together.

Thirty to 45 minutes after beginning their run, this week’s participants begin filtering back to 99 Bottles, sweaty and exhausted. Outside the bar, the sun begins to set, casting a warm glow over the group. They’ve taken over the streetside picnic tables and spread out, sitting in clusters on the sidewalk. The shared experience of being sweaty and out of breath dissolves any apprehension about talking to new people, and laughter and lively conversation fill the air.

“You can run a 5K wherever and whenever you want,” Hauri says. “It’s the social aspect that sets this event apart.”