When Fredericksburg native Elizabeth Martin found herself living in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2023, due to her husband’s job as a medical contractor, she looked up walking groups in the area and quickly joined one.
“I was missing my friends and I only had family that lived over an hour away,” Martin said. “One of my passions is health and wellness and I loved being able to make friends and went for walks with these women every week for the nine months I lived in Florida.”
Coed Free-Climbing event held at Rapp Rocks. (Photo courtesy of the Fredericksburg Girls Who Walk Facebook Page.)
Upon returning to Fredericksburg last year, Martin’s experience with the walking group in Florida led her to organize her own social club. She formed Fredericksburg Girls Who Walk in February 2024.
“I realized how much I was going to miss the weekly walks with those women and thus Fredericksburg Girls Who Walk was born,” she said. “I had no idea it would get this popular but I’m so glad it did, and took it one step further and offered more than just weekly walks.”
The Fredericksburg Girls Who Walk social club offers a variety of events outside of their weekly walks, including happy hours, book clubs, craft clubs, and professional networking clubs.
“The role of Girls Who Walk is to foster a community where women of like minds and similar interests can form meaningful friendships, while also prioritizing health and wellness,” Martin said. “From our very first walk that I organized in the beginning of February 2024, I realized quickly with the 40 women who came out that this could be something really amazing.”
A Coed ugly sweater-themed night at Strangeways Brewery to bring in the holidays. (Photo courtesy of the Fredericksburg Girls Who Walk Facebook Page.)
The Fredericksburg Girls Who Walk Facebook and Instagram pages include calendars for their events posted at the beginning of each month so local women can sign up. There have already been four events held in the new year, ranging from free [rock] climbing to brunches.
“I’ve been to the last co-ed event and I went to the latest brunch held at BRAVO! [Italian Kitchen] on January 11 and it was really cool to meet new people,” said club member and writer Dee Burk. “Everyone was really nice.”
Fredericksburg women enjoying a Progressing Ballet Techniques class — a mix between ballet and pilates done on a mat with a yoga ball — at Regan Mason Haley Dance Company. (Photo courtesy of the Fredericksburg Girls Who Walk Facebook page.)
Martin quickly started building partnerships with local businesses and gyms in the Fredericksburg area to host events.
“It’s so hard to make friends these days and I’m glad to be able to help bring people together,” Martin said. “I just kept thinking, why not experience new things together while helping local businesses and be involved in our community at the same time?”
Outside of the club’s regular events, women can also keep in touch on a channel Martin set up on the group chat app GroupMe. Within the main channel are subchannels for various interests and topics, such as content for dog moms or women looking for gym buddies.
“GroupMe was actually used by the St. Petersburg women to keep in contact and it was so helpful for those times you met someone you clicked with but forgot to get their numbers,” Martin said. “GroupMe was a vital part for bringing and keeping that community together so they can dive deeper into the friendships. It’s been a huge help here and a great way for like-minded women to connect and put yourself out there.”
Heading into 2025, Martin is focused on continuing to grow the club while keeping its momentum going.
“A year of watching so many women meet and continue to join in has motivated me to keep going with it,” she said. “Between Facebook and Instagram, we have over 3,200 followers and members, and I want to expand this past Fredericksburg and into the Stafford and Spotsylvania areas because our girls come from all over.”
