How 2025 Became the Year of the Run Club
Once a fringe hobby for serious PB-chasers lacing up for ultra-marathons, run clubs are enjoying mainstream revival. From urban pavements to country lanes, runners are ganging together in colourful lycra-clad packs to reap the endorphin-pumping benefits of movement.
But rather than syncing Stravas to go further and faster, stats suggest that this new wave of running clubs is being fuelled by a bigger desire to meet and connect. With 58% of people saying they made new friends via a sporting group last year, millennials and Gen Z are increasingly turning to fitness to find community.
“I joined a run club after moving to London and feeling lonely”
Until recently, running clubs were often seen as the domain of solo, performance-driven athletes squeezing in an extra session between long runs, but the tides appear to be turning. According to Strava’s Year in Sport review, 48% of people now say social connection is their top reason for joining a fitness group, with women the most likely to sign up for friendship. In fact, the number of women joining a running club on Strava rose by 89% year on year.
One of them is 31-year-old *Hollie, who moved to south London from the North West and found the transition surprisingly isolating. “As a freelancer, I wasn’t meeting people at work, and although I had rented a desk in a co-working space, everyone seemed too busy and stressed to strike up a conversation. The first few months after moving were pretty lonely, as my boyfriend was the only person I really spoke to.”
All that changed after a chance scroll on Instagram led Hollie to a nearby run club. “I spotted a group photo on the page of our local pub of around 40 people, men and women, all smiling and holding up a run club sign with pints in hand. They looked fun and friendly, so I immediately signed up on the spot, even though I’d never ran more than 5km before.”
Her local club meets weekly at the pub for a 45-minute loop around the area, followed by a swift pint and mingle. “The first session was nerve-racking, but the run helped break the ice. Now I’ve got half a dozen really good mates in the area – some I hang out with outside of the club.
“I’ve definitely seen more people joining recently, mostly in their 30s and clearly looking to make new friends. It’s not always easy to meet people when you’re a bit older, so I’m really grateful the club exists.”
“I met my partner at a run club”
Disillusioned with dating apps and sick of swiping, run clubs are increasingly becoming the new place for a generation of single people to find love.
According to statistics, 79 per cent of college students are turning away from the apps in favour of in-person meets, and the phenomenon of run club dating success stories is so common that Venice Run Club in California has taken to TikTok to document its many relationship success stories.
After splitting up with her long-term partner, 28-year-old *Susie was ready to meet someone new, but was feeling increasingly deflated by the dating app algorithms. “I’d deleted Hinge after getting ghosted right before a planned date,” she says.
“People on dating apps can be really flakey and I felt like I was wasting my time endlessly swiping. I just wanted to meet people in real life but it felt impossible to strike up conversation in my city, as everyone is in their cliques.”
A friend suggested she come along to their local run club. “In the second week, I got chatting to another runner during the warm-up. We kept pace together for most of the session, then hung back and had a drink after with a few other people. He’d been in the run club a lot longer than me, so it felt natural to strike up conversation in a way dating apps never did.”
The two have been in a committed relationship for four months and still run together every week. “I love that we met doing something active, as it’s a big part of the relationship, and one that we both value. I think you get a better sense of someone when you’re moving and chatting, with no pressure, rather than sitting awkwardly across from them at a bar.”
“Run clubs are the new pubs”
Many of today’s run clubs combine miles with post-run pints, coffees and croissants, and it’s a myth that you need to be either teetotal or super fit to jump on the social fitness bandwagon.
Take London City Runners, for example. Based in the heart of the Bermondsey Beer Mile, they run an 1,800 sq ft craft beer pub and meeting space, all owned and operated by volunteers from the club.
The pub serves a rotating selection of local and international beers alongside artisan Climpson’s coffee, making the post-run hangout just as integral to the club’s appeal as the miles run. “I’m quite delighted that we’re the only running-themed pub in the world,” says founder Tim Navin-Jones.
It’s not just a once-a-week thing either; the club has something happening nearly every day. “We meet for regular runs during the week, Friday nights are often social events, Saturdays we open like a normal pub, and on Sundays, people come for long runs,” Navin-Jones shares.
“We get around 200 people on a Wednesday night, and over 100 most Sundays. It’s everything from group runs and track sessions to pub quizzes and even chess.”
Navin-Jones is proud of the diverse, welcoming community he’s helped build. “Running used to be for competitive white blokes in the ‘80s. But thanks to the pandemic and how accessible it is, now everyone runs, and I love that.”
