Carl Hiehn was 21 when his first-ever serious relationship ended. It was 2009, and at the time of the breakup, his ex had recently finished a half-marathon race. With a broken heart and a surge of built-up emotions, Hiehn embraced the motto of “anything my ex can do, I can do better.” He started training right away, and he finished his own first half-marathon within six months. Hiehn hadn’t been much of a runner before, but getting outside and racing alongside other people turned running into something he actually enjoyed doing. 

Now in his 30s, Hiehn is helping other people cultivate a similar love for running. He’s the founder of the Queer East Run Crew in Toronto, a 200-person running group for LGBTQ2S+ people. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when feelings of loneliness and a lack of community were at their peak, Queer East Run Crew became a much-needed space for people craving human interaction. The group gets together once a week for a low-stakes meet-up where runners can choose from three different route options: one with a conversational pace, one with a faster pace and a third, longer route for those who are stronger distance runners.

“Some of our runners have done the Boston Marathon multiple times, but then we have people who are literally just starting out,” Hiehn says. The club also functions as a social space where queer runners can meet—and sometimes culminates in drinks at a bar, giving participants time to debrief and cultivate new relationships with other members. 
 

Hiehn has witnessed the impact of Queer East Run Crew Toronto since its inception, seeing how it has allowed people to embrace their queerness, share their love for movement and spend time with fellow runners.

Across Canada, several other LGBTQ2S+ running groups are offering their members the same thing. Carl Hiehn was 21 when his first-ever serious relationship ended. It was 2009, and at the time of the breakup, his ex had recently finished a half-marathon race. With a broken heart and a surge of built-up emotions, Hiehn embraced the motto of “anything my ex can do, I can do better.” He started training right away, and he finished his own first half-marathon within six months. Hiehn hadn’t been much of a runner before, but getting outside and racing alongside other people turned running into something he actually enjoyed doing. 

Now in his 30s, Hiehn is helping other people cultivate a similar love for running. He’s the founder of the Queer East Run Crew in Toronto, a 200-person running group for LGBTQ2S+ people. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when feelings of loneliness and a lack of community were at their peak, Queer East Run Crew became a much-needed space for people craving human interaction. The group gets together once a week for a low-stakes meet-up where runners can choose from three different route options: one with a conversational pace, one with a faster pace and a third, longer route for those who are stronger distance runners.

“Some of our runners have done the Boston Marathon multiple times, but then we have people who are literally just starting out,” Hiehn says. The club also functions as a social space where queer runners can meet—and sometimes culminates in drinks at a bar, giving participants time to debrief and cultivate new relationships with other members. 
 

Hiehn has witnessed the impact of Queer East Run Crew Toronto since its inception, seeing how it has allowed people to embrace their queerness, share their love for movement and spend time with fellow runners.

Across Canada, several other LGBTQ2S+ running groups are offering their members the same thing. Carl Hiehn was 21 when his first-ever serious relationship ended. It was 2009, and at the time of the breakup, his ex had recently finished a half-marathon race. With a broken heart and a surge of built-up emotions, Hiehn embraced the motto of “anything my ex can do, I can do better.” He started training right away, and he finished his own first half-marathon within six months. Hiehn hadn’t been much of a runner before, but getting outside and racing alongside other people turned running into something he actually enjoyed doing. 

Now in his 30s, Hiehn is helping other people cultivate a similar love for running. He’s the founder of the Queer East Run Crew in Toronto, a 200-person running group for LGBTQ2S+ people. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when feelings of loneliness and a lack of community were at their peak, Queer East Run Crew became a much-needed space for people craving human interaction. The group gets together once a week for a low-stakes meet-up where runners can choose from three different route options: one with a conversational pace, one with a faster pace and a third, longer route for those who are stronger distance runners.

“Some of our runners have done the Boston Marathon multiple times, but then we have people who are literally just starting out,” Hiehn says. The club also functions as a social space where queer runners can meet—and sometimes culminates in drinks at a bar, giving participants time to debrief and cultivate new relationships with other members. 
 

Hiehn has witnessed the impact of Queer East Run Crew Toronto since its inception, seeing how it has allowed people to embrace their queerness, share their love for movement and spend time with fellow runners.

Across Canada, several other LGBTQ2S+ running groups are offering their members the same thing. Carl Hiehn was 21 when his first-ever serious relationship ended. It was 2009, and at the time of the breakup, his ex had recently finished a half-marathon race. With a broken heart and a surge of built-up emotions, Hiehn embraced the motto of “anything my ex can do, I can do better.” He started training right away, and he finished his own first half-marathon within six months. Hiehn hadn’t been much of a runner before, but getting outside and racing alongside other people turned running into something he actually enjoyed doing. 

Now in his 30s, Hiehn is helping other people cultivate a similar love for running. He’s the founder of the Queer East Run Crew in Toronto, a 200-person running group for LGBTQ2S+ people. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when feelings of loneliness and a lack of community were at their peak, Queer East Run Crew became a much-needed space for people craving human interaction. The group gets together once a week for a low-stakes meet-up where runners can choose from three different route options: one with a conversational pace, one with a faster pace and a third, longer route for those who are stronger distance runners.

“Some of our runners have done the Boston Marathon multiple times, but then we have people who are literally just starting out,” Hiehn says. The club also functions as a social space where queer runners can meet—and sometimes culminates in drinks at a bar, giving participants time to debrief and cultivate new relationships with other members. 
 

Hiehn has witnessed the impact of Queer East Run Crew Toronto since its inception, seeing how it has allowed people to embrace their queerness, share their love for movement and spend time with fellow runners.

Across Canada, several other LGBTQ2S+ running groups are offering their members the same thing.