Rise and Run Early Birds started with something simple. Two best friends, Catalina Herrera and Brenda Barroso, started meeting up for early morning and weekend runs around Northwest Arkansas. No big plans. No business behind it. No expectations. Just two girls who loved running, loved the outdoors, and loved the feeling of showing up before the rest of the world woke up.

Back then, running crews in Northwest Arkansas were still small. There were a few groups already around, but not many. Most mornings were quiet. Just miles, conversation, sunrises, and consistency.

They started at places like the Lake Fayetteville loop. Then little by little, they explored more. Mountainsides. Dirt trails. Nature paths. Long hills. New routes through Fayetteville, Bentonville, Bella Vista, Pea Ridge, Farmington, Springdale, and all across Northwest Arkansas.

As time passed, people started noticing.

Friends joined the runs. Then more friends brought more runners. Men and women from different backgrounds, different fitness levels, and different walks of life started showing up together at 6 a.m. Some were training for their first 5K. Others were preparing for half marathons, marathons, trail races, and ultra marathons.

But what kept people coming back was never just the running.

It was the feeling.

The encouragement.
The accountability.
The conversations on the trails.
The early mornings that turned strangers into family.

Rise and Run became a place where people could grow physically, mentally, and emotionally together. A place where nobody had to be the fastest runner to belong. A place where consistency mattered more than perfection.

Today, the team has grown to around 70 runners across Northwest Arkansas, and it continues to grow every month. What started with Catalina and Brenda simply showing up for each other has now become a community built around discipline, support, and movement.

Some runners come for fitness.
Some come for peace.
Some come because life got heavy and they needed something healthy to hold onto.

No matter where someone starts, they are welcomed the same way.

Rise and Run Early Birds is not about being elite.
It is about showing up.

It is about choosing growth.
Choosing discipline.
Choosing community.
Choosing to keep moving forward even when life gets hard.

Every sunrise run means something to us.
Every mile carries a story.
And every person who joins becomes part of something bigger than running.