By Nicholas Martinez , September 16, 2025
More than 100 Cal Poly Pomona students gathered on the sands of Huntington Beach on Saturday, Sept. 6 as members from several on-campus clubs, including the Pre-PT+OT Club and CPP Table Tennis, mingled with one another. But, for the CPP Bronco Running Club, a gathering of this size seemed like wishful thinking just a few years prior.
Now coming off the heels of the CPP Beach Collab, the Bronco Running Club has utilized social events and connections made through running to expand on the runner’s path and beyond.
The Bronco Running Club traverses the pavement and trails across campus and southern California. However, the latest route the club is taking is not toward a campus landmark. It’s a path that goes outside of running and builds a stronger, tight-knit social environment through events and bonding, according to several of its members.
The Bronco Running Club traverses the pavement and trails across campus and southern California. However, the latest route the club is taking is not toward a campus landmark. It’s a path that goes outside of running and builds a stronger, tight-knit social environment through events and bonding, according to several of its members.
Since its founding in 2015, the Bronco Running Club has had a sole focus of running for both training and enjoyment paired with a steady membership.
However, Dan Nguyen, computer engineering student and Bronco Running Club internal vice president, said the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown created a shift in the club’s structure.
“One or two people kept the club going through the pandemic, but some of the board members told me that after that, they would be happy to get maybe eight people to show up,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen recounted his first experiences within the club, including the traditional Halloween run where runners wore costumes, fondly remembering one member wearing a taco outfit and talking to him during the run. Those memories, paired with the welcoming social environment created by the club’s executive board and members, are what Nguyen loves about this club.
“I feel that when you run with people and you’re working toward the same goal, you form this bond with them,” Nguyen said. “he connections I’ve made through running club, they’re special, sometimes more real than friends that I meet in classrooms.”
Nguyen understands even the little things go a long way, noting the “running taco” he met during the Halloween run ended up being Christopher Carlos, an education student and Bronco Running Club external vice president who served alongside Nguyen on board two years in a row.
Small and quick connections such as the one Nguyen made with Carlos served as a platform for the club’s next steps.
“Through bonding, people got close, and it started with someone saying, ‘Hey, we should do some stuff together,’” Nguyen said. “Then it became one hike or race a semester, then going out together after a race, and eventually we started having more socials as a club.”
Socials and post-run meals became full-fledged collaborations with running clubs from other schools such as UC Riverside, UC Irvine and UC Riverside, which Nguyen compared to an anime crossover episode.
These crossovers brought attention to the club, growing its membership over the past two years. The opportunity to connect with runners at CPP and beyond is what drew in members like mechanical engineering student Andrew Baja.
“I already knew I wanted to get into running before the club fair, and I was able to talk to some of the board members, and I decided to try it out,” Baja said. “After running, we get the chance to socialize and make new friends.”
Baja is just one example of the club’s expanding membership. As Nguyen noted, Bronco Running Club has had up to 60 members for a single run.
Its runs now reach far away from CPP, such as the Santa Paula Punch Bowl Hiking Social, Yosemite Trip and having 18 members participate in the OC Marathon.
Nguyen said the social environment and bonds formed are what stick with him to this day. He picked the club’s 2025 end-of-the-year banquet as a highlight of his time in the club, after seeing the emotions and togetherness of members as they recapped the year’s events.
The Bronco Running Club is far from the finish line as is members are just getting started with a year of runs and events. The executive board is looking to foster more bonds amongst its runners, both old and new.
“Come meet new people and come have a fun time,” said computer engineering student and Bronco Running Club president Brandon Wan. “You don’t need any running experience to join our club. Some of our members just show up to our social events, which we strongly encourage going to.”
Both Nguyen and Wan encourage students interested in running or joining the club’s growing social environment to meet up with its members outside the BRIC before their scheduled runs, and remember that most importantly, all skill levels are welcome.
Feature image courtesy of Bronco Running Club
