Home State
Run Club

Stephanie Rosborg knows what it feels like to lose yourself in an instant. In 2011, she was in her mid-20s, training for her first marathon, when an autoimmune disease upended everything. “I went from running and feeling strong to being in a wheelchair,” she says. “I spent two years there, wondering if this was going to be my life now.”

Running—the thing she thought she’d do once, just to check a box—became the lifeline she clung to. She kept her marathon registration active, using it as her beacon. “I told myself, ‘If I can cross that finish line, then I know I’ve made it back.’”

Four years later, she did just that. At Walt Disney World, of course — “If I was going to do one, it had to be Disney,” she laughs. But instead of ticking a box, she fell in love. Today, Stephanie has run 18 marathons, three ultra-distance races, and is training for her first 50-miler. “I approach running with a lot of gratitude,” she says. “Every mile is a reminder that I’m not stuck in that chair anymore.”

That deep well of resilience—and joy—is what fueled her next big idea: Home State Run Club.

When Stephanie and her husband, Kevin Fairchild, moved to Hamlin in 2018, they ran into a problem familiar to many adults: making new friends felt like an Olympic sport. “You don’t realize how hard it is to meet people when you’re out of school, don’t have kids in activities, and don’t want all your socializing to happen at work,” Stephanie says. “Then the pandemic hit, and we were even more isolated.”

So when Home State Brewing announced its opening, Stephanie saw an opportunity. “I thought, ‘What if we built something here — a place to run, but also a place to belong?’”

Within a week of the brewery’s debut, Home State Run Club was born.

But this wasn’t just another running group. Stephanie reimagined the format: “Instead of a set distance, runners go out for 22 minutes and turn around—so everyone finishes together, regardless of pace. It changes the whole dynamic. It’s not about speed. It’s about community.”

And community is exactly what they’ve built. On Monday nights, 80 to 130 people gather: families, grandparents, new runners, stroller-pushers. Afterward, they linger over beers (runners get 15% off), swap stories, and make plans to meet again.

Stephanie weaves in fun, too—theme runs for Shark Week or Christmas in July, post-race “celebration Mondays,” and chalked course quotes. “I want people to look forward to coming,” she says. “Not just for the miles—but for the people.”

What started as a way to make friends has grown into something more. “Now I’ve got a family,” she says, smiling. “And I think a lot of people who come here feel the same way.”