As a community evolves, so do its operational needs. The New York Flyers, one of New York City’s most storied running clubs, recognized that as they expanded, managing memberships, payments, and event announcements required a fresh approach.

A storied New York City running club

Founded in 1989 as a social run club, the Flyers have always been about more than just running fast—they’re about running together and being open to everyone.

From donut runs to Christmas light runs, the Flyers have built a culture that mixes fitness with fun, making it one of the most dynamic running groups in New York. The group attracts runners of all abilities and offers organized runs almost every day.

Evolving membership management

But behind the scenes, managing a club of this size—around 600 members—was getting increasingly complicated.

Club treasurer Neil Tipograph put it simply—the old system made it hard to track active members and handle routine updates. The Flyers often struggled to see an up-to-date picture of their community, so making membership management easier became a top priority.

Communication challenges

At the same time, maintaining their WordPress-based website was becoming more difficult and time-consuming. 

“The website kept breaking down and it wasn’t working properly,” said Chris Long, the Flyers’ president. “We had outdated plugins, broken links, and an event signup system that was unreliable.”

Moving to Heylo: the risk and reward

The Flyers had been using Heylo casually for a couple of years to announce events, but it wasn’t until early 2024 that they considered using it as their platform for managing memberships and communications. A former board member suggested that Heylo could replace a few of their outdated tools.

Encouraged by insights from peers at another large NYC-based running club, the Flyers transitioned their entire paid membership system to Heylo. This move allowed the club to refresh their membership records and create a seamless system for both new and returning members.

Ultimately, moving to Heylo forced the Flyers to reset and get a true count of their members—in the best possible way.

”Heylo changed our world,” Neil said.

Immediate benefits: organization, efficiency, and growth

Since switching to Heylo, the Flyers have streamlined memberships, events, and they’ve grown.

● Membership tracking is accurate. For the first time, they know how many paid members they have. At 650, they’ve grown since moving to Heylo.

● Payments are seamless. “Although we pay a small extra charge per transaction, we’ve saved a significant amount of IT costs,” Neil said. “We’re actually saving money with Heylo.”

● Event sign-ups are easier. With daily runs, training programs, and social events, the Flyers needed a better way to manage RSVPs. Now people sign up for events on Heylo, and the Flyers use other social platforms to drive those sign-ups.

● Better communication. Instead of waiting to share info in their monthly newsletter, Chris says they use the announcements chat in Heylo to share essential info, which goes out to members via push notifications and email.

● Simplified administration. Waivers and emergency contacts are handled automatically. “It was so easy to update the waiver in Heylo and send out a notification to have members sign the waiver,” Neil said.

Big wins: the Three Bridges Run and other paid events

One of the Flyers’ signature events is the Three Bridges Run, a 20-mile training run for the New York City Marathon. Runners enjoy a fully-supported run with aid stations and volunteers that prepare them for the race.

“For the first time, we managed the sign-ups and payments completely through Heylo,” Chris said. “It worked flawlessly. We had nearly 300 runners, including non-members who paid for access.”

The club also took advantage of Heylo’s check-in feature to track attendance at events, and they’re now exploring how to reward the most engaged members.

They organized their annual awards celebration on Heylo for the first time. “It sold out and we had a waiting list,” said Chris, “and that’s the first time that’s ever happened. That was one of the moments we all realized, ‘Oh this Heylo thing is really working.'"

Deeper connections

Beyond logistics, the Flyers use Heylo to deepen their sense of community. They’ve started listing local races as events, so members can find each other and run together. After races, they use Heylo to organize post-run meetups. They even use it for last-minute alerts—like when a race was canceled due to snow, and members got an instant notification.

”There are so many layers to Heylo,” said Chris. “We’re learning as we go to see what works the best.”

The future of the Flyers

The Flyers’ next goal? Growth. Now that they’re using Heylo, they believe they can substantially increase their membership, making them one of the biggest running clubs in the city.

“What we offer for the $30 annual membership is insane,” Neil says, noting that you can’t buy a deli lunch or three cartons of eggs for that amount. “We say we’re the best value proposition in New York City.”

With Heylo, the Flyers aren’t just managing a 35-year-old running club—they’re building a thriving, expanding community. And they’re just getting started.

How to join the Flyers

To join the NY Flyers on Heylo, scan this QR code:

‍