Interviewed by: Jai Morzaria | Photography by: Sebastian & J Castro | Featuring: Co-Founders of commUNITY Run Club NYC: Lemwhir Valette and Hannah Longenderfer

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New York City has never needed an invitation to move differently. From the pavement-pounding marathoners to the artists, athletes, and creatives shaping the city’s underground scenes, running has become more than a workout. It’s a cultural connector. Now, a new wave of run clubs is bringing people together through movement, wellness, and a shared appreciation for cannabis. At the intersection of it all is commUNITY Run Club NYC, where two founders are putting a fresh spin on the running scene with weekly miles, ginger shots, and a mission to bring cannabis and performance into the same conversation.

Behind the movement are two individuals whose athletic journeys took different routes but arrived at the same destination. Lemwhir Valette brings the competitive edge of professional handball, national championships, five marathons, and a relentless drive to build community. Co-Founder Hannah Longenderfer brings 16 years of competitive and professional figure skating, where discipline, resilience, and mental strength became the foundation for everything that followed. Together, they’re building something that stretches beyond the finish line. Through commUNITY Run Club, they’re creating space for runners, walkers, cannabis consumers, and the cannabis-curious to connect without judgment. The ginger shots are part of the ritual, but the bigger mission is changing the narrative around cannabis, wellness, and athletic performance.

We sat down with the Lems and Hannah to talk about the miles, the movement, and why the future of running culture has room for everyone.

JM:

New York has always had its own rhythm, but running has become a culture of its own. What first brought each of you into running, and when did it become something bigger than the miles?

Lems:

New York has a way of making everything feel bigger, and the energy here is unmatched. I’ve always been part of the wellness space through sports and fitness, and cannabis has been part of my life for a long time too. A mentor of mine, Dre Pabon, kept telling me to pull up for a cyph and give running a real try because he was already tapped into the running-high community. Around that same time, Josh invited me to a run out of Culture House, and that was really when it clicked for me that there was a need for a safe space where cannabis, movement, and community could exist together openly. That’s when running became bigger than just the miles for me. It showed me that there were already people living at that intersection they just needed a space where they could show up fully and feel understood.

Hannah:

For me, running really came into my life as a form of therapy. I was healing through a lot, trying to rewire some of the ways trauma had taught my body and mind to respond, and running became this incredibly powerful outlet. There was something about moving through stress and built-up energy by running that felt different. Running gave me a sense of control again (choosing the pace, choosing the distance, deciding when to push and when to pull back).

That’s what made it stick for me. I could go into a run feeling mentally heavy or overstimulated and come out feeling clearer, more grounded, and more like myself. Over time, it became one of the ways I learned to regulate, release, and reconnect with my body.

What surprised me was how naturally community followed once I really committed to the journey. I started connecting with people in person and online who understood what running could give you beyond fitness. That’s when it became bigger than the miles for me. It became healing, confidence, connection, and eventually community.

JM:
CommUNITY Run Club feels like more than a traditional run club. What were you trying to create when you started bringing people together, and how has that vision evolved?

Lems:

commUNITY Run Club definitely has its own edge in the way we’ve built the experience. The ginger shots became a standard early on and really helped shape the identity of the club. The idea was to introduce people to another layer of wellness around cannabis and movement. Not just getting higher, but thinking about how we can feel better, recover better, and take care of ourselves more intentionally. Beyond that, the club has always felt like a kind of commUNITY potluck. People show up and pour something into the space. That spirit of everyone contributing is really what the vision has grown into. Now, through our collaborations, we’re just expanding that same idea: different people, brands, and communities bringing something to the table and creating something together in UNITY.

Hannah:

Since I came into CRCNY once it had already started finding its footing, my role naturally became helping shape how the club was presented and experienced (especially online). As the vision has evolved through working with Lems, it’s become much bigger than presentation. We’ve learned how to set goals together, build toward them as a team, and grow without losing the two pillars that have always mattered most to us: cannabis and performance. That intersection stays at the center of everything.

As we’ve grown, we’ve definitely heard opinions, advice, and even criticism that we should scale back how visibly we show cannabis consumption or soften that part of the message. We’ve never listened. Because the whole point is to challenge the idea that cannabis and performance can’t exist in the same space. If we watered that down to make people more comfortable, we’d lose what makes CRCNY honest. I think now the vision is evolving into a bigger question of: how else can we create pockets of community and still stay rooted in that same mission? I’ve become even more protective of making sure CRCNY never feels performative or trend-driven. I want people to feel welcomed whether they’re fast, slow, running, walking, cannabis-curious, deeply immersed in the culture, or simply looking for connection. The goal has become less about just building a run club and more about creating spaces where movement, cannabis, wellness, and real relationships can exist together naturally.

JM:
NYC is a melting pot of personalities, backgrounds and creative scenes. What is it about running that brings people together who might never otherwise cross paths, and what have you learned from the community you’ve built?

Lems:

The beauty of New York is that you don’t have to work too hard to find a mix of people. It’s already built into the city. And for us, it’s not just running that brings everyone together; it’s also the connection to cannabis. The cyph creates this shared space where people from different backgrounds, age groups, and walks of life can meet on common ground. There’s something powerful about that. When you create a space where people feel welcomed, it gives them room to try something new, stay motivated, and even inspire somebody else just by showing up.

I also think running has grown so much because people are more intentional about health and wellness now. It’s one of the most natural forms of movement. You can just step outside and go. And when you add New York to that, it becomes something even bigger. Running through this city together, as a commUNITY, has an energy that’s hard to replicate anywhere else.

Hannah:

What I’ve learned most from the community we’ve built is how much trust exists within CRCNY. The people who come back week after week have trusted the mission as a whole. They understand what we stand for, and they trust the space we’ve created around cannabis, movement, and wellness.

What’s been really meaningful to me is seeing that trust extend beyond people who already consume cannabis regularly. We’ve had people come into CRCNY who are curious, newer to cannabis, or maybe wouldn’t normally feel comfortable consuming in a group setting, and they feel safe enough with us to trust us with their high and with their experience. That’s a big responsibility, and I don’t take it lightly. I think running helps create that bridge because everyone is showing up a little vulnerable already. You’re moving your body, pushing yourself, breathing hard, maybe meeting new people. There’s something very disarming about that. It levels people out. And once that trust is there, the differences in background, personality, or scene start to matter a lot less.

For me, that’s been one of the biggest lessons: community isn’t just about getting people in the same place. It’s about creating enough trust that people feel safe showing up as themselves.

JM:

Running culture has changed dramatically, with athletes, artists, musicians and people from all walks of life finding their place in the scene. Why do you think running is having this cultural moment, and what makes New York such a unique place for this movement to grow?

Lems and Hannah:

We think running is having such a cultural moment because it gives people something a lot of us are craving right now: structure, connection, challenge, and community all at once. It’s accessible in a way that a lot of other scenes aren’t.

We also think a lot of this is a response to how disconnected people became after COVID. So much of life shifted into this internet realm, and for a lot of people, real interpersonal connection became more distant and sometimes even harder to navigate. We think people are craving the opposite of that now. They want to be in the same room, on the same block, on the same route. They want the real experience of sharing physical space with other people.

New York makes that especially powerful because the city already has this constant energy of collision and connection. Running gives people a natural reason to cross into each other’s worlds in a way that feels unforced.

JM:

Cannabis has historically existed outside the mainstream conversation around athletics and wellness. How does cannabis fit into the culture surrounding CommUNITY Run Club, and what does it mean to create a space where people can connect, challenge perceptions and have these conversations without judgment?

Lems:

Cannabis still carries a stigma we’re all working to break. Before, so much of that stigma came from illegality and criminalization. Now that cannabis is more mainstream, the judgment often shows up differently… cannabis consumers are still stereotyped as lazy, unmotivated, unfocused, or somehow less disciplined. That perception is especially interesting in athletic spaces, because so many people who train, compete, and take their health seriously also consume cannabis.

commUNITY Run Club really grew out of that intersection. We started by hosting runs with New York dispensaries because those spaces felt like the most natural places to have these conversations openly. Since then, we’ve produced hundreds of runs in partnership with dispensaries and local businesses across New York, including sneaker stores, restaurants, and other neighbourhood spaces.

As I moved through different running communities in New York, I quickly realized how many athletes already consumed cannabis but weren’t especially vocal about it. It wasn’t necessarily because they were ashamed of their consumption; it was more that running spaces didn’t always feel like places where that part of their lifestyle would be openly understood or accepted. The cannabis use was there… it just wasn’t being embraced. That’s why building CRCNY has felt so organic. In a lot of ways, the community created it with us. We created a bridge between cannabis, movement, education, wellness, and performance, but a bridge only works if people feel safe enough to cross it. That safety and trust matter to us. Some people who come to CRCNY are experienced consumers, some are curious, some are newer to cannabis, and some don’t consume at all. The goal is never to pressure anyone into cannabis. It’s to create a space where people can ask questions, learn, move, connect, and explore their own relationship with it without judgment.

Hannah:

Creating a space without judgment means people don’t have to hide one part of themselves to participate in another. You can care deeply about your body, your training, your recovery and your mental wellness while also having a relationship with cannabis. And that relationship looks different for everyone.

JM:

There’s something interesting about the mix of people showing up to run together, from everyday runners to cultural figures and people working across different industries. Who has walked through your run club and surprised you, and what does that say about the community you’re building?

Lems and Hannah:

What’s been most interesting to me is seeing how running brings together people from so many different walks of life. We don’t really think of the people who show up as “members” as much as we think of them as humans looking for something… maybe a healthier lifestyle, maybe connection, maybe just a space where they share common interests with other people. The people who sometimes surprise us most are the ones who don’t consume cannabis at all. If you look at CRCNY, our relationship with cannabis is very clear, but at the core of everything is commUNITY. That’s intentional. So when someone shows up who may not personally consume but still feels like they belong in the space, it reminds us that this is bigger than cannabis and bigger than running. It’s the combination of those things creating something more: a safe space rooted in unity, where people can show up as themselves and still feel connected.

People are looking for places where they don’t have to explain or edit parts of themselves to belong.

JM:
Beyond running, what does community actually mean to each of you? In a city where people can be surrounded by millions and still feel disconnected, why is creating spaces for genuine connection, belonging and shared experiences so important?

Lems:

For me, running has definitely been one of the vehicles that brings people together, but commUNITY has always meant something bigger than running. Sometimes community is as simple as cheering for somebody else. Whether that’s on the sidelines of a race or just showing up for someone in this bigger race of life. There’s a real disconnect that happens when people feel like they can’t be their authentic selves in a space. That’s something we’ve always wanted CRCNY to push against. commUNITY Run Club gives us an opportunity to create a space where people don’t feel like they have to hide parts of themselves, worry about being judged, or prove that they belong before they’re welcomed. At the core, community is showing up for one another. Running may be what initially brings us together, but the feeling of belonging, supporting each other, and knowing there are people in your corner is what makes it commUNITY.

Hannah:

For me, community means having a space where people feel seen, welcomed, and comfortable enough to show up as they are. It’s not just being around people. it’s feeling connected to them. It’s knowing that there are people who understand you, support you, and are willing to share experiences with you without needing you to perform or fit into a certain mold first. That feels especially important in New York because you can be surrounded by people constantly and still feel completely disconnected. There’s so much movement, so much noise, and everyone is carrying their own life at the same time. Creating intentional spaces for genuine connection gives people a reason to slow down, talk to each other, and build relationships that might not have happened otherwise.

JM:

If we look ahead a year or two, what do you want CommUNITY Run Club to become? Whether it’s bringing new people into running, expanding the community, collaborating with other cultural movements or changing the conversation around cannabis and wellness, what does the next chapter look like?

Lems:

For me, the next chapter is about growing without losing the reason we started. I want commUNITY Run Club to keep bringing new people into movement, expanding into new spaces, and collaborating with other communities that share our values while continuing to challenge the way people think about cannabis, wellness, and performance.

A year or two from now, I’d love for CRCNY to be bigger, but still feel personal. More cities, more partnerships, and more opportunities for people to find us but the same sense of trust, authenticity, and belonging at the core. Growth is exciting, but protecting the commUNITY while we grow is just as important.

Hannah:

For me, I want the next chapter of CRCNY to be about expanding the ways people can experience commUNITY without losing what makes it feel special now. I’d love to see us create more pockets of connection. through running, wellness, cannabis education, creative collaborations, travel, events, and whatever else feels true to who we are. I also want us to keep pushing the conversation around cannabis and performance forward. We’ve never wanted to water that part down to make the club more digestible, and I don’t see that changing. If anything, I want the next few years to show even more clearly that cannabis, movement, discipline, wellness, creativity, and community can all exist in the same space. Growth is definitely part of the vision, but I don’t want growth just for the sake of being bigger. I want CRCNY to become more intentional, more connected, and more impactful while still making someone walking into their first run feel like they found a place they can belong.

The real story behind commUNITY Run Club isn’t measured in miles, marathon medals, or how fast someone can finish a route. It’s measured in the people who keep showing up, the connections formed between strangers, and the conversations that become possible when people no longer feel the need to hide who they are.

Lems and Hannah are helping push a movement that refuses to separate athletic discipline from cannabis culture, or wellness from community. Their approach is rooted in a simple idea: you don’t have to fit a mould to find your people. Whether you’re chasing a personal best, finding your stride, exploring a new community, or simply looking for a place to belong, there’s room for you on the route.

The culture is moving. The conversation is changing. And the next chapter belongs to the communities willing to show up and move it forward.

Ready to find your people? Sign up for a run, connect with commUNITY Run Club, and join the growing movement of running communities challenging perceptions, building connections, and changing the narrative around cannabis, wellness, and performance.

Join the Movement. Change the Narrative. Break the Stigma.