Kameel Stanley, Arron Williams, and Celeste Grayer came together to change the narrative about surrounding the value of health within the Black community. The response of the small and mighty team was the Northside Trap Run.
The event – which has grown to become a staple among Black running and fitness communities within the region – returns to the Ville next weekend.
“Trap Run is a hip hop themed 5K that is a really good blend of both community events,” said Kameel, co-founder of the Trap Run. “And one that highlights how much we care about our neighborhood and our future,”
The Trap Run grew out of the community organization Young Friends of the Ville – an offshoot of Northside Community Housing, which has focused on affordable housing, development and other needs of the community for the past five decades.
“The Young Friends organization is a mix of young professionals who love The Ville,” Stanley said. “We are invested in its future so we wanted to come up with an annual event for the neighborhood and also a fundraiser.”
Northside Trap Run, which is named after a popular rap subgenre that has roots in Atlanta, came into fruition in 2018. It returns on Saturday, September 6th at the intersection of North Sarah and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
Festivities begin at 8 a.m. There will be an 8:30 a.m. warm-up with yoga and stretching brought by The Collective, a group of Black yoga practitioners. The run is named after a popular subgenre of rap that originated in Atlanta. It will begin at 9 a.m., and is set to feature 14 local DJs who will keep runners and walkers pumped and energized at cheer stations sponsored by local organizations.
At the end of the race, participants can vote for which station they believed was the most hype. The organization who wins the vote will receive a $500 donation from Trap Run.
“The Trap Run is a 5K like no other,” Stanley said. “Our race has big vibes, big energy and can feel like a cross between a block party and a family reunion with friends, family, and community.”
Though it is called the Trap Run, running is not required. “We intentionally and deliberately make many different ways for people to join in and get involved,” Stanley said. “You can run, walk or hangout at a cheer station.”
Guests will find various forms of entertainment by way of a storytelling lounge, pop up spa and a gaming truck. But the fun doesn’t end there. Along with participation in a community mural, guests can also play with Black Girl Recess by way of Double Dutch ropes, line dancing and various games.
“Trap Run to us means celebrating beauty that perseveres through struggle,” Stanley said. “Just as hip hop, trap music is all about transcending hardships very much familiar to the Black experience. We wanted to involve movement, health, wellness – and do it in a way that is very authentic to us. “[Trap Run] is a beautiful tapestry of community.”
While the event has grown each year, Trap Run has not been without its naysayers.
“One of the things we were told over and over again was we should have the run somewhere like Forest Park,” Stanley said. “We were told, ‘No one was coming to run on the north side,’ but we want to bring people to move through the place that we are highlighting, uplifting, and pouring resources into.”
Though they were doubted and discouraged – including people who turned their nose up at the event’s name – Trap run has become a go-to signature event for Black St. Louis that gets bigger every year.
“[Through Trap Run] we are very serious about trying to highlight the beauty of neighborhoods in St. Louis that far too many ignore,” Stanley said. “We want you to be thinking about how you can cross the block and suddenly things seem much more tended to – you can see for yourself areas that have been invested in and areas that have been dis-invested in.”
The North Side Trap Run 2025 will take place on Saturday, Sep. 6. Festivities begin at 8 a.m. There will be an 8:30 a.m. stretch followed by the 9 a.m. race and programming that continues until 2 p.m. For more information about the Northside Trap Run, including the run of the route, visit traprunstl.com.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
