Meet Philly’s Bernie Sanders Running (and Walking!) Group

It's literally campaigning on the run.

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Before Kim Nguyen and her husband, Paul, started campaigning for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders back in June, Kim says the couple was super active and healthy: They went to the gym five days a week. They ate well. They made healthy living a priority. But when campaigning picked up and began requiring more and more of their free time, well, “We started eating like crap, stopped going to the gym. Something felt off,” she says.

Kim began to brainstorm ways to balance the demands of the campaign schedule — they volunteer around their full-time jobs — with the need to be physically active. Then, one day, it hit her: They could do both at the same time.

“All it really takes to campaign is to go out there and hold a Bernie sign while you take a walk,” Kim says, who lives in Yorktown. “And I figured if we were able to find motivated Bernie supporters, it could turn into something pretty neat and free and healthy.”

You see where this is going, right? A few weeks ago, Kim and Paul launched the first “Bernin’ Calories” campaigning walking and running club, in which Bernie Sanders supporters are able to spread their candidate’s message while also getting outside to move their bodies a bit. Says Kim, “We’re being active, both politically and physically.” Ah, touché.

The first meet-up brought out four Sanders campaign-walkers, and at last week’s gathering eight turned up. Part of the group decided to run the route — they walked from City Hall to the Art Museum last week — and part wanted to walk. It’s a come-as-you-are, do-what-makes-you-feel-good sort of crowd.

The group plans to gather one evening a week from 7 to 8 p.m. (It’s usually on Thursdays, like it is this week, but Kim says the day could fluctuate between Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays.), and carry Bernie 2016 signs while running or walking a 5K-ish distance. The goal is to be active for about an hour, with different routes each week and built-in time to chat up interested passersby.

This Thursday, the group will meet at City Hall and walk to Penn’s Landing and back. You’re encouraged to wear your Bernie-est (?) duds, but they’ll have stickers and pins for you, too. You can RSVP here, and keep up with the Philadelphia for Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign here.

Oh and as for Sanders, Kim says he’s got an open invitation to take a walk whenever he’s in town: “I’d love to have him join us.”

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