A free group run, pilates and coffee at Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve on Saturday, Oct. 10, is the latest from a Naperville running club that has grown to 250 members in one year.
The Actual Naperville Running Club is calling the event the "Naperville Young People Retention Program." It runs from 9 a.m. to noon at the preserve's West Shelter off 83rd Street, west of Book Road. The lineup includes a one-mile group run, a pilates session led by BODYBAR Pilates, coffee from Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea and giveaways from Hammer & Nails, Casey's Foods and Hollywood Blvd Cinema. An RSVP is required; details are on the club's Instagram page, @theactualnapervillerunningclub.
Mayor Scott Wehrli said he plans to attend.
Co-founders Juan David Campolargo, 23, and Matt Oliva, 24, are both Naperville residents and Benet Academy alumni. As first reported by the Chicago Tribune, the two reconnected over a birthday phone call last year, went for a run and launched an Instagram account within a week.
"So almost jokingly, we said, 'What if you start a run club?' and he didn't think the joke was too funny because a week later, we had an Instagram account and we started," Campolargo said.
The club targets residents ages 18 to 28 in the western suburbs, though the founders have called that range more of a guideline than a strict rule. Weekly Saturday runs draw 60 to 80 people. Oliva said the post-run socials at downtown Naperville coffee shops, bars and volleyball courts are what keep members coming back.
Ian Curtis, 25, moved to Naperville from Michigan in July 2025 for work and found the club on Reddit when it was still small. He told the Tribune that without it, he likely would have moved to Chicago and accepted an hour-and-a-half commute.
The event is free and open to the public. Accessibility details for the West Shelter were not listed on the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County's site as of publication.
This week in Naperville
Saturday, Oct. 10 | 9 a.m.–noon | Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve, West Shelter (83rd Street, 0.5 mile west of Book Road) — Naperville Young People Retention Program: one-mile group run, pilates, free coffee and giveaways. Free; RSVP required via @theactualnapervillerunningclub on Instagram.
