Tucson, AZ Renews as RRCA Runner Friendly Community

March 27, 2025

Tucson has once again earned special municipal designation from the Road Runners Club of America

TUCSON, AZ (March 27, 2025) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) has announced that Tucson, Arizona has once again been added to their list of Runner Friendly Communities®. Tucson’s renewal for the selective designation was spearheaded jointly by Run Tucson and the Southern Arizona Roadrunners.

The RRCA’s Runner Friendly Community committee selects cities by reviewing the following four components:

1. Community Infrastructure
2. Community Support
3. Local Government Support
4. Additional Support

“We’re honored to continue to be a Runner Friendly Community,” says Run Tucson’s Randy Accetta. “Tucson is often seen as a bicycling destination, but we’re also a great running town with a leading non-profit running club and beautiful trails and roads for training year-round. Important local leaders, such as Tucson Medical Center, support all sorts of running events throughout the year, making it possible to have some of the most scenic races in the country.”

The goal of the RRCA’s Runner Friendly Community program is to shine a national spotlight on communities that stand out as runner-friendly and provide incentives and ideas for communities to work towards becoming runner-friendly communities. Runner Friendly Communities can increase the quality of life, improve physical activity for residents, and provide for increased economic impact for the community.

Cities must meet some or all of the above criteria in order to be considered applicable and to be awarded the title of a Runner Friendly Community by the RRCA.

“Communities play a vital role in making running safe and accessible for everyone,” said Jean Knaack, RRCA CEO. “The references from city and state government leaders for this round of Runner Friendly Communities demonstrates the impact of positive relationships between runners and local officials.”

Nick Pazzi from Visit Tucson says, “Our local running events take place at some of our most iconic tourist destinations, including Saguaro National Park, the Biosphere 2, Old Tucson, Tucson Mountain Park, and Sabino Canyon.  These events help elevate Tucson as the dynamic outdoor and cultural hub of the Sonoran Desert.”

This news comes just over a month before Tucson’s largest road running race, the TMC Meet Me Downtown 5k Night Run and the Festival of Miles. Scheduled for May 31, 2025, the TMC Meet Me Downtown races have prize money for top runners, age group awards, live music and a post-race party with activities for all ages.

The Festival of Miles Open Race has been named the RRCA West Regional Mile Championship and has $1000 in prize money up for grabs. The Festival of Miles also include a free “Running Shop High School Mile by HOKA” and a free FitKidz children’s mile.

For more information on RRCA, visit https://www.rrca.org/.

For more information on Run Tucson, visit www.runtucson.net.

For more information on the Southern Arizona Roadrunners, visit www.runsar.org.

For more information on Visit Tucson, see https://www.visittucson.org

About The Road Runners Club of America

The Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is the oldest and largest national association of runners and running organizations dedicated to growing the sport of running since 1958. The RRCA champions the development and success of community-based running organizations that empower all people to participate in the sport of running in pursuit of enjoyment, health, well-being and competition. Their vision is Empowering Everyone to Run.

About Run Tucson: Partnering with the Southern Arizona Roadrunners and other local organizations, Run Tucson is a full-service running company producing charity running and walking events as well as personalized coaching for runners of all abilities. For more information, please visit www.runtucson.net.

Contact: Randy Accetta | randy@runtucson.net | 520-991-0733