Part of creating a lifestyle for your residents is keeping a pulse on what is popular when it comes to group events.  Several years ago Texas Hold 'em took the country by storm, as did UFC fighting a few years later.  Over the past few years, creative fun runs have really come to the forefront, and now it is just a matter of leveraging these events to create connections between your residents! 

Fun runs used to be simple 5K, 10K, etc runs that catered to fitness oriented people, but over the past several years they have exploded into a variety of themed events that now cater to a much wider audience!  From a Zombie Run to a Hot Chocolate Run, themed events offer a variety of creative ways to entertain runners as they compete.  Also, races that are designed to be more challenging than a simple 5K have popped up, such as the Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder.

One resource that may be helpful is mudrunguide.com , which not only gives a schedule of some fun runs, but also provides ratings that might show that a certain run isn't what it is cracked up to be!

So how can you use this for your community and residents?  Well, even though fun runs are individual events, that doesn't stop you from creating your own team!  And in fact, many people get groups together to do fun runs now, so this definitely counts as a group event.  One approach to integrating fun runs into your resident lifestyle experience is to offer to cover half the cost of the run for the first number of residents who sign up, but in exchange they have to wear the team shirt!  That shirt, of course, shares that they are on TEAM XYZ APARTMENTS, giving you some outward marketing, as well as cement the team mentality.

Depending on the run, you could also invite all residents to come and root for the team, and give away free drinks and snacks to residents who show up.

There are few things that create bonds between people better than being on a team of some sort, so this idea does more than simply offer entertainment - it gives your residents challenges that they can overcome together, laying the groundwork for real connections within your community!

Bonus Tips:

1) Make sure to take pictures, both before and after!  Many fun runs are designed to be dirty, so a picture before of your fresh looking residents compared to after when they are run down and grimy will be fun to share!  (Also take pictures of your residents as they run past, for great action shots!)

2)  Be LOUD!  If you are rooting on your team of residents, make sure you really get into it and show your support! 

3)  Display the pictures in the office and clubhouse!  This team represents your community, and pictures show how active and fun it can be to live in your community!  So celebrate the team any way you can, and showcase them to prospective residents.

4)  Many fun runs also benefit charities, so make sure to use that in your marketing and promotion!

(Image found by our friend Jackie Ramstedt)