What started in 2022 as a “highdea” is now a weekly run club and wellness circle—one that’s making cannabis culture look a lot more like consistency than couch-lock.
On The 606, the city’s elevated trail that cuts a clean line through the neighborhoods, the energy before a run usually sounds the same—footsteps, laughter, the soft shuffle of people finding their pace. But on the weekend of 4/20, there’s an added note in the air: a visible, unbothered refusal to keep cannabis culture tucked away.
That was the scene in April 2025, when Runners High Chicago hosted its third annual 420 Run on The 606—an event where participants could run 4.20 miles or walk two. The format is playful, sure. The message is sharper.
Runners High Chicago launched in June 2022 with a motto that reads like a dare to old stereotypes: “Get Lit, Get Fit, and Break The Stigma.” The group’s premise is simple—cannabis consumers can also be wellness-minded, disciplined, ambitious, and community-oriented. They can be marathoners. They can be caretakers. They can be people rebuilding routine and mental health one Saturday morning at a time.
Those Saturdays matter. Runners High Chicago meets weekly—Saturdays at 9 a.m.—in rotating locations across the city for what they call “community miles.” Around the running, they’ve expanded into other practices—yoga, meditation, sound healing, and mental health support—building a container that holds more than cardio. It holds consistency. It holds connection.
And once a year, the 420 Run becomes the group’s loudest public statement—less a stunt than a community roll call.
The photos from last year’s event tell you what words can’t always capture: warm-up circles, people hugging at the start line, runners mid-stride, walkers making it their own, families in the mix. The day looks celebratory—because it is. It also looks normal—because that’s the point.
One participant, Chris Piscitelli, summed up the draw in a single sentence: “I run all the time, and thought this was cool.” In other words, you don’t have to choose between being a “runner” and being a “weed person.” You can be both—and you can do it in public without turning it into a spectacle.
Behind the scenes are co-founders and co-captains Anakaren “AK” Ramirez and Carlos Ramos, who describe Runners High Chicago as Latino-led and justice-impacted led—and who connect their wellness work to a larger vision of restorative justice in communities harmed by the war on drugs. In a city where legalization didn’t automatically equal equity, that framing lands with weight.
Runners High Chicago’s growth reflects the hunger for that kind of space—by their count, the annual 420 Run draws 150+ attendees, and their online presence has generated 1M+ social impressions. But the more interesting metric is harder to quantify: how many people start showing up for the miles, then stay for the belonging.
Because the story here isn’t really “people smoke and run.” It’s people building a healthier relationship with their bodies—and with each other—inside a culture that’s too often flattened into a joke.
For Runners High Chicago, “Wake, Bake, Run” isn’t a party slogan. It’s a reframe. A reminder that cannabis culture can look like early mornings, movement, mutual support—and a start line that welcomes you whether you’re chasing 4.20 miles or taking a two-mile walk toward something better.
