Inside F3 Muletown: The 5:30 AM Men's Group Changing Lives in Columbia

Issue #615

November 20, 2025

In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

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 Special Feature Article 👇

📰 Inside F3 Muletown: The 5:30 AM Men's Group Changing Lives in Columbia

🗓 List of Upcoming Events

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Inside F3 Muletown: The 5:30 AM Men's Group Changing Lives in Columbia

There's something happening in Columbia before most people hit snooze. At the square, in Maury County Park, at Riverside—groups of men are showing up in the cold and dark to challenge themselves.

They're not training for anything in particular. There's no competition, no leaderboard, no membership fee. Just men showing up, working out in whatever weather comes, and becoming the kind of friends who answer the phone at 3 AM.

This is F3 Muletown, and for four years now, it's been quietly changing lives in Columbia.

F3 stands for Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. It started in a parking lot in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2010 and has grown into a worldwide organization. The concept is simple: plant, grow, and serve small men's workout groups to invigorate male community leadership.

"This is really a men's leadership group that's disguised as a workout group," Joe Howard explained.

The workouts are free, always outdoors, and what they call "peer-led"—meaning no one person is in charge. Men rotate leading the workouts, and every session ends in what they call a "circle of trust," where the leader shares some parting wisdom for the day.

F3 Muletown has been meeting Monday through Saturday for four years now, with 14 different workouts happening across the week. They're celebrating that milestone on November 22nd at Riverside Park with a 6 a.m. workout followed by pancakes and sausage.

The Part That Actually Matters

Conner Contreras gets up at 4:30 in the morning to make it to workouts. When his alarm goes off and the bed is warm, he thinks about Joe reaching out to give him a hard time if he doesn't show.

But there's something bigger pulling him out of bed.

"There's something about completing something difficult at the very beginning of your day," Conner said. "The rest of the day just feels easier. The rest of the day feels like it's this huge confidence thing like, okay, if I can tackle that at 4:30 a.m. getting up out of bed, the rest of the day is a piece of cake."

Joe was in the same boat before F3. He grew up playing sports, played in college, then got away from it completely. He couldn't run a mile without stopping.

"The growth that I've seen in my fitness has been just really remarkable," he said. Not that he's setting any records, but the accountability of other men showing up changes everything.

They use a Slack channel where guys commit to workouts the day before. If you don't show up, they're going to check on you first. Then they're going to give you a hard time.

No Man Left Behind

The workouts can be intense. But here's what makes F3 different: they actually mean it when they say all fitness levels are welcome.

"You could be the dude who's done CrossFit every single day for five years in a row. We got a place for you," Conner said. "You could be a dude who's never had a heart rate above 150. We got a place for you as well."

They have a credo: "We leave no man behind, but we leave no man where we found him."

Joe was emphatic about this. "If you come and you work out, there will be somebody right next to you the entire time encouraging you, cheering you on, doing reps with you even."

The intentionality runs through everything they do. When someone plans a workout, they're thinking: what if someone in their seventies shows up? What if this is someone's first time exercising in years?

They've got a 63-year-old who runs circles around everyone. They've got guys bringing their young sons. The median age is somewhere in the late thirties to mid-forties, but the range is wide.

Average attendance is eight to twelve guys per workout—small enough that everyone gets to lead, small enough that real friendships form.

The Story That Proves It Works

Conner talked about a guy who showed up when he was 49. He hadn't run since his early forties and decided to tackle the hill at Maury County Park.

He cranked out four miles his first day, climbing that hill at least once. And he got the itch.

He went from being, as Conner put it, "a little bit of a hermit" to bringing coffee after every workout. Encouraging the men to stay and talk about their lives. He's become a core part of what F3 Muletown has become.

He's now 50 or 51. He still makes mistakes, still sleeps past his alarm sometimes. But he runs loops around Conner, who's 26.

"I want to grow to be like you athletically," Conner tells him.

That's the wild thing about F3—there's no central leadership, no CEO. Conner and Joe aren't leaders in any official capacity. They're just guys who showed up, poured in, and kept showing up. The group is what the group makes it.

The 3 AM Test

Conner has about 20 guys he interacts with on a weekly basis through F3. He put it simply: "If I call them at 3 AM, they're going to answer."

"I could call Joe at 3 AM He'll be a little grumpy, but he'll pick up. And if there's something going on, he's there for me."

It's close to brotherhood, he said. When a guy had to move last week on short notice, eight men showed up to help.

Joe has been around organizations with credos and catchphrases and principles that don't actually govern anything day to day. "This is the one organization that I've been part of that it is completely governed by those five core principles and by that credo."

What About the Faith Part?

F3 doesn't ascribe to a particular faith or religion. They ask that you believe in something higher than yourself and respect the faith of the leader that day.

Every workout ends in a circle of trust where the leader shares some parting wisdom. For Joe, who's a Christian, that often means a Biblical principle he's been learning. But he's been to F3 workouts in other cities where it looked different.

"We ask that you are continuing to think about and grow in whatever faith you have," Joe said.

Just Show Up Tomorrow

If you're reading this and thinking it sounds interesting but you're not in great shape, good news: that's kind of the point.

Joe's advice is simple. "Don't overthink it. Just come tomorrow."

Conner recommends Tuesday mornings at the square if you want the full experience—working out at the center of town, then heading to Mule Town Coffee with the guys afterward. Or come Saturday mornings, which start at 6 a.m. (a merciful 30 minutes later) and are specifically designed for first-timers. It's just bodyweight exercises—pushups, air squats, step-ups, light running.

No equipment needed. Just show up.

Joe put it best: "We will be extremely excited and you're going to have a group of men cheering you on the whole way."

Four years in, F3 Muletown is still growing. Still waking up before dawn. Still leaving no man behind.

And on November 22nd at 6 a.m., they're throwing a party at Riverside Park to celebrate. Free breakfast included—all you have to do is a few pushups.

F3 Muletown meets Monday through Saturday at various locations around Columbia. Find the full schedule and locations here. Or just show up—they'll be the ones already sweating while you're still deciding whether to hit snooze.

Upcoming Local Events

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Thursday, November 20th

Friday, November 21st

Saturday, November 22nd

Sunday, November 23rd

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🎵 This Week’s Live Music

Thursday, November 20

Todd Ciprian - Tito’s Spring Hill, 6–9 PM
Christian Chapman - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30–9 PM
Hitmakers Series - Puckett’s, 7:30–9 PM

Friday, November 21

Open Mic Night - Grinder’s Switch Winery, 6–8 PM
Rory Feek - Homestead Hall, 7 PM
The Mulehouse Songwriter Series - The Mulehouse, 7:30 PM
Tom & Robert - McCreary’s Irish Pub & Eatery, 7–9 PM
Rob Roscoe - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30–9 PM
Troy Castelland - Puckett’s, 7:30–9 PM
Covered Wagon - Fozzy’s Bar & Grill, 8–11 PM

Saturday, November 22

Josh Hunt - Twisted Copper Brewing Company, 7–9 PM
Johnny Jameson & The Empty Pints - McCreary’s Irish Pub & Eatery, 7–9 PM
Jeff Allen - The Mulehouse, 7:30 PM
Song Writers Round - The Bourbon Gospel, 7:30 PM
Eastern Dreamers - Puckett’s, 7:30–9 PM
South Bound Crows - Fozzy’s Bar & Grill, 8–11 PM

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