About GRYT Run Club | Nick & Laura Merich

A team tocome back to.

GRYT Run Club is a free Pittsburgh-area running community for former athletes, busy parents, and comeback runners who miss having a team. We meet on Saturday mornings in the South Hills to walk, jog, run, and do hard things together.

Come run with us

Saturdays, 7 AM · Montour / Peters Trail

Free runs. All paces. No membership required.

We needed this, too.

Work. Family. Training when you can fit it in. A week can fill up without leaving much room for a team.

Nick and Laura started GRYT because they wanted one place on the calendar to keep showing up, with other people who wanted that too. That's the idea behind the Saturday ritual: make room for something worth coming back to.

You don't need to be who you were at 20. You don't need a race on the calendar. You just need a place to start, and people worth coming back for.

Nick. Laura.And the crew.

Two different backgrounds. One shared belief: effort is better together.

Co-founder / Runner / Community host

Laura Merich

Laura played Division I soccer at Duquesne, where she started every match as a freshman and went on to appear on the 2011 roster. Her running background includes a 3:25:24 finish at the 2019 Mountains 2 Beach Marathon.

Off the trail, she holds a master's degree in biotechnology from Georgetown and leads eCommerce operations as a VP at Quartzy. At GRYT, she co-hosts the Saturday runs and helps newcomers find their footing with the crew.

Meet Laura on LinkedIn

Co-founder / Builder / Community host

Nick Merich

Nick played college baseball as a Point Park University pitcher. He later co-founded Songlink/Odesli and held growth leadership roles at Mint Songs and Kits AI; Songlink was acquired by Linktree in 2021.

He's also been the busy parent trying to find his way back to fitness, a comeback he has shared publicly. At GRYT, he brings his community-building background to the same practical job as Laura: getting people to the trailhead and making them feel welcome when they arrive.

Meet Nick on LinkedIn

The founders start the circle. The people who keep showing up make it a club.

Less scrolling.More showing up.

Free Saturday runs

We meet Saturdays at 7 AM on the Montour / Peters Trail in McMurray, with an out-and-back route and room to walk, jog, or run. A regular time and place means one less thing to figure out.

People beyond the miles

The run starts with introductions and ends with time for coffee and conversation in the lot. Getting to know the people beside you is part of the point.

Practical runner resources

GRYT shares first-timer guides, route notes, training explainers, and crew stories. Use what helps, then come put it into practice with people.

Hard things.Open door.

Take the effort seriously. You don't have to take yourself so seriously.

No paywall at the trailhead

Our recurring community runs are free, with no membership or training-plan purchase required. Come because you want to, not because you're locked into something.

A Saturday you can plan around

Our recurring anchor is Saturday at 7 AM in McMurray. Check the current run page for weather or schedule updates before heading out.

Effort without a pace test

Walkers, joggers, and runners are welcome, and the out-and-back format lets people turn around at different points. You don't have to keep up with someone else's goal to work on yours.