Camp Hill Run club
The Camp Hill Run Club may be a new organization, but its path began two decades earlier, with parents serving as inspirations for community involvement.
When Grace Socash was growing up in the Harrisburg area, her mother and father understood the power of being among other people. Socash remembers seeing friends at the Broad Street Market and attending many activities at her Catholic school.
She and her mother moved to Washington, D.C., after her parents’ divorce, but she returned last year with her husband after her mother was pulled back to the midstate.
“I had not lived here since I was 12 years old, and it has been a great journey since then,” Socash said.
In D.C., Socash met friends through run clubs. She tried to do the same in her new town but hit a wall. She was frustrated but determined. So, she created an Instagram account, Camp Hill Run Club, and paid $5 to boost a post announcing a run at 6:30 a.m. on July 23, 2025, at Cornerstone Coffeehouse.
“I find a lot of community in running,” Socash said. “I think it is the great equalizer in terms of sports—anyone can run.”
She and her husband arrived on the announced day and time. At 6:30 a.m., nobody showed up. She felt defeated, but it turned out the complete strangers she was about to meet were just running at their own pace. By 6:35 a.m., four people had joined her.
Fiona Dolan was one of the original four. She had been living in Lemoyne for about a year and faced the same struggles Socash had when trying to meet people through running. She saw Camp Hill Run Club’s first post and decided to give it a try.
“There, I met the girl who became my closest friend in the area,” Dolan said of Socash. “We hit it off instantly.”
Socash never gave Instagram another dime, but her community grew through word of mouth.
Some days, up to 40 people can be seen trekking through Camp Hill early on Wednesday mornings. The Camp Hill Run Club runs or walks three to four miles each week and then gathers at Cornerstone Coffeehouse for breakfast and conversation.“Some are very experienced runners; others just started running,” Socash said. “All are welcome.”
Dolan said that while paces may vary, everyone shares the same friendly attitude.
“You know you already have something in common with the few other people who are crazy enough to wake up at the crack of dawn, especially in the Pennsylvania winters,” she said. “It is easy to make friends.”
The group is very diverse, Socash said. They all arrive in running clothes. When they go home and change for work, they dress in clothes appropriate for a variety of careers, including attorney, coffee shop employee, salesperson, tugboat worker and more.
“I strategically made it at 6:30 in the morning because it is before most people go to work,” Socash said. “It’s been great for people who work at 8 a.m. or people who are shift workers.”
Most people never knew each other before Socash’s initial post, but friendships have quickly formed.
Socash often receives questions from people apprehensive about joining, who fear they may be too slow or get lost. All paces are welcome, and routes are posted online.
“Everyone who came, it was once their first day,” she said. “Now we sit at the same long table after we run and have coffee together.”
Socash may be the founder of Camp Hill Run Club, but she is quick to credit all her new friends for her success.
“Every single person in the club helps me and helps the club,” she said. “People want to connect.”
Some runners have attended each other’s weddings, and some are now dating.
Their commitment to the community also extends beyond the Wednesday gatherings. Socash is proud that the group recently completed its second collection for the Harrisburg Food Pantry, bringing in about 180 pounds of food and personal care items each week. The runners also organized a team for Girls on the Run Mid State 5K in May.
Socash hopes the group grows so they can include pace groups and improve on their personal records for helping the community.
When she reflects on the past year, she is in awe to discover the result of mixing frustration with self-motivation.
“It’s been great to put myself out there and see what happens,” Socash said.
Camp Hill Run Club meets at 6:30 a.m., Wednesdays at Cornerstone Coffeehouse, 2133 Market St., Camp Hill. Follow the group on Instagram @camphillrunclub.
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