RUNNINGFast is relative.
Showing up is everything.
Every Tuesday. 7:00 PM. Mean Eyed Cat.
No dues. All paces. Leave your ego in the
parking lot.
RAW started in 2014 with a simple idea: push each other to become better runners. A lot of miles, personal bests, and post-run beers later, we're still here.
We run 400s, hills, mile repeats, and other hard efforts across Austin. We talk shit. We pull for each other. And no matter the weather, we always have RAW.
In 2022, RAW donated $10,000 to Pease Park to name the front garden after the crew. A permanent mark on a place we've logged thousands of miles.
This is what we believe. Every word of it.
There are few places left in this world that allow us to get back to our wild, primal, RAW self. We have prioritized comfort and convenience over character and camaraderie. Between the likes and followers, virtue signaling, and online ordering, we have forgotten what it's like to go beyond the carefully crafted borders that we've built for ourselves.
We can't run fast because we might hurt ourselves, we can't talk shit because someone might get offended, and we can't fucking GO FOR IT because we might fail.
RAW is inside us all. It's the feeling we get when we go beyond our limits. RAW is a place beyond the bullshit at work or home. Beyond the bank account, beyond the followers, and beyond your comfort zone. RAW is that feeling when you silence all the doubts, all the self-imposed limits, all the haters and go HAF.
RAW is not jogging. RAW is not running fast. RAW is going HAF. RAW is like looking at yourself in the mirror and facing all the imperfections and not giving a fuck, and then talking shit to that person in the mirror.
RAW is talking shit and taking shit. Why? Because you left your ego back at the parking lot and you're among family. RAW is recognizing that others are going beyond their limit and celebrating it. Fucking yell. Passionately pull for those around you. At the workout, after the workout, and in everyday life.
There will never be dues because no membership is required. The only thing that's required is that you show up and go HAF.
That guy that asks about the workout and how long it is and what the rest is. That guy that can't drink a beer because he has a triathlon in 3 months. That guy that doesn't tip the bartenders. That guy that is just coming out to promote their product, business, or how good looking they are. NO ONE CARES, BRUH, have a cigarette!
As a byproduct of attending RAW, you might attain some of the benefits enjoyed by others who have engaged in regular RAWing over the years: You are a faster runner. You are less of an asshole. You give less fucks about the bullshit holding you back. You swear more.
Swears on this page so far: 11. Side effect confirmed.
THE END.(OF THE MANIFESTO.)
No triathletes were harmed in the making of this manifesto.
Stay for the post-credits scene
Oh yeah, and RAW is a running crew that meets on Tuesday nights.
Our playground is Austin. Streets, hills, park loops—and the occasional track night.
Hills, relays, ladders, fartleks, mile repeats. Pick a terrain or let the deck surprise you.
A grind through the Rollingwood hills — attack the climbs on repeat until the legs are cooked. Also known as Rollingwood Hills.
MEET THIS WORKOUT 11 workouts. Routes, stories,
and a few hills you’ll remember.
Yes. That is a hill.
One more. Then one more.
This week's workout lands in the crew email.
The workout ends. The night doesn't.
Big efforts, questionable celebrations, and people who show up for each other. This is what RAW actually looks like.
SAME TIME NEXT WEEK. MORE STORIES TO COME.
Tap a card. Meet a friend of RAW.
No dues, ever. There is no membership. First-timers just sign a quick waiver, then show up. That is it.
Going HAF is our ethos — leaving your ego in the parking lot and giving everything you have. It is about effort, not pace.
Every Tuesday at 7:00 PM, rain or shine, at Mean Eyed Cat (1621 W 5th St, Austin, TX). We have never missed a week since 2014.
Absolutely. All paces and abilities are welcome. RAW is about showing up and working hard at your level — the crew pulls for everyone.
Just show up ready to work. Bring water (there is a crew water sign-up), your running shoes, and a willingness to go HAF.
You made it to the bottom. Now come meet everyone.
