Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Ruckart.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Knoxville Movement Collective is Knoxville’s outdoor social club. The goal is to build a free community bringing people together through movement and getting outdoors. We started out with group runs and have expanded to bike rides, hikes, paddles, & social events like hanging out at Augusta Quarry.
I have been participating in, and leading, a group run on Monday nights at Barrelhouse by Gypsy Circus in 4th & Gill as well as a few other weekly runs. The social aspect of our weekly run club made it a great fit to work with KMC in an ongoing approach to continue to foster the movement availability for the Knoxville Community. We partnered with Gypsy Circus last week for their annual Out-Cider 5K and will have Bound Running at one of our upcoming Monday night runs in September.
Our north star is making movement open and accessible for all people in the Knoxville community and Knoxville’s ever expanding collection of outdoor spaces.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
KMC is the brainchild of Ashley Johnston. She has personally but a lot of energy into growing this from a singular weekly run to an assortment of events spread across the week. We are constantly looking for new ways to provide opportunities to our current and future community members.
Engaging with the local community is a key aspect of any new organization and we have worked really closely with our members to ensure all levels feel welcome and invited to our events.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work remotely in IT. For me, the local run club scene is my access to a “third space” and an outlet to meet new people.
I have been involved in the Knoxville running community for close to 2 decades. After going to college at UT, I really needed an outlet for social activity and the growing run club environment was a great space for that.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The running community is only continuing to grow and expand. From where things were in Knoxville 10 years ago to today is so incredible to see. Things can only continue to improve as more people move into the area and more people become interested in their overall health and wellness.
Pricing:
- We are a free community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.knoxvillemovement.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knoxvillemovement/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleMovementCollective/
