Sixty members of Peace Runners 773 will line up for the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, the latest milestone for an East Garfield Park-based nonprofit that began with walks by founder Jackie Hoffman and his mother and has grown into a West Side institution whose 111 Out West Run participants recorded measurable gains in mental health, finances and sense of belonging.
The club, whose membership is primarily Black, was founded in 2020 and has become known for weekend runs that regularly draw more than 100 people to the Gold Dome field house in Garfield Park, according to Block Club Chicago. On Sunday, the 60 marathon participants will be far from the only Peace Runners presence on the course — the group has claimed Mile 16, near Jackson Boulevard and Racine Avenue on the Near West Side, as its official cheering station.
A Study Puts Numbers Behind the Miles
Earlier this year, Kent State University professors released a study examining the health, social and economic effects of Peace Runners’ programming, following 111 members of the club’s Out West Run training program from January through the Bank of America Chicago 13.1 half marathon on June 7. The research measured changes in exercise, mental health, work productivity and community connection among participants, the station’s report notes.
The results were striking. Participants’ average score on a depression screening dropped 2.6 points on a 24-point scale, moving the group from the mild range of depression symptoms into the minimal range, per the same account. Their sense of belonging to the neighborhood, meanwhile, rose 51 percent over the course of the program.
The study’s economic estimates were just as notable. Researchers calculated that physical improvements added about 40 minutes of productive time a week, worth roughly $1,390 a year, while better mental health was linked to about $3,200 a year in added earnings. Participants who met the CDC’s activity guidelines for the first time saved an estimated $2,040 a year in health care costs, the outlet reported. A separate account of the same research, published by Running Industry Alliance, put the physical-health earnings boost at an estimated $1,390 to $1,964 per participant annually.
Community Over the Running Itself
Even with the figures attached to the study, those closest to the research say the numbers only tell part of the story. Participants repeatedly credited the Peace Runners community more than the running itself for reduced isolation and support, according to Endurance Sportswire.
That theme echoes what Peace Runners founder Jackie Hoffman has said about the organization’s mission. Hoffman, the group’s founder and executive director, has said Peace Runners cannot wait for government or health institutions to provide the resources the community needs, and that the club wants to show West Side pride and change the narrative about the neighborhood, according to the Block Club report.
From a Field House to a Wellness Headquarters
The club has backed up that ambition with infrastructure. Peace Runners opened its Wellness Headquarters at 3563 W. 5th Ave. in Garfield Park in early 2026, a studio that houses nutrition workshops, mental health programs, classes for older people and youth strength training. The organization also runs a Young At Heart program aimed at members 55 and older, offering walks and fitness classes for that age group.
Beyond the studio, Peace Runners still holds its signature community run every Saturday at 9:15 a.m. — an all-ages, all-paces one-mile walk or two-mile jog open to anyone, according to the Peace Runners 773 website. The club says it logged more than 75,000 miles in underserved West Side communities in 2025. Its free Out West Run program, described on the organization’s site, trains both new and experienced runners toward a 5K, half marathon or full marathon.
Growth That Outpaces Expectations
The numbers behind that growth are dramatic. Peace Runners’ annual 5K grew from just 19 participants in 2020 to 565 runners in a more recent year, the Block Club Chicago report on the studio opening noted. More than 1,500 Peace Runners have run in 5Ks, about 200 have completed half-marathons, and 51 ran the Chicago Marathon the prior year — a figure that has now grown to 60 for Sunday’s race.
The club’s reach now extends well beyond Chicago. By the end of 2026, the group plans to have sent runners to all seven World Marathon Majors, including races in Sydney, London, Tokyo and New York City, per Block Club Chicago’s reporting. Locally, the Bank of America Chicago 13.1 half marathon — a new race launched by the organizers of the Chicago Marathon that started and finished in Garfield Park — has become another touchstone event for the club, according to Runner’s World. Peace Runners has also partnered with Grocery Run Club on joint pre-marathon shakeout runs, the magazine reported.
A Backdrop of Health Disparities
The club’s work unfolds against a backdrop of stark and contested health disparities on Chicago’s West Side. WBEZ has reported that West Garfield Park residents, most of whom are Black, have an average life expectancy of 67 years, compared with 87 years in the Loop. Runner’s World, citing its own figures, reported the West Garfield Park average at 69 years, compared with 85 years for residents of the Near North Side or downtown Loop — a conflict in the underlying numbers that has not been resolved between the two outlets. WBEZ also reported that advocates have pushed for a wellness center costing more than $40 million as part of broader neighborhood investment efforts.
Whatever the precise figures, the gap has shaped how Peace Runners frames its mission on the ground. For the 60 members set to run Sunday — cheered on at Mile 16 by their own club — the marathon is both a personal finish line and another data point in a West Side story the organization has spent six years trying to rewrite.
