The journey to the London City Runners clubhouse is a test of willpower in many ways.
If the thought of a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) run isn’t enough to put you off, its location on the famous Bermondsey Beer Mile, with the aromas of bakeries and microbreweries spilling onto the street, may entice you.
But something else is brewing for those with the fortitude to continue. Despite the clubhouse’s declared focus on running with its walls adorned with pictures and medals from races past, the club is a veritable hub of romance.
There have been at least 20 marriages between couples who met at the club, according to founder Tim Navin-Jones.
The possibility of romance was clearly not lost on the new members making nascent attempts at flirting outside the clubhouse on one gray and waterlogged London evening.
As the endless scrolling through dating apps has become a feat of endurance, running clubs such as this one have developed a reputation for romance. Runners who spend any time on social media probably already know “run clubs are the new dating apps” trend.
And as the night’s run got underway, taking the group past the Tower of London, a runner from Guatemala revealed that this trend is exactly why he joined the club.
Three friends catching their breath in the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral said they were looking for a way to socialize and meet people that didn’t involve copious amounts of alcohol.
As the run came to an end, a sea of phones emerged to exchange numbers.
What’s cool about running?
When you think of running, the idea of romance may be the furthest thing from your mind. Trudging away, mile after mile, has long filled many with a sense of dread.
“When I started in 2003, there was nothing cool about running,” said Mike Saes, founder of NYC Bridge Runners, a popular running crew in New York City with around 27,000 followers on Instagram. A crew culture is based on building community, according to Saes. “It’s become a lifestyle. Running has always been a punishment — now I call it ‘funishment.’”
Recently though, running has exploded in popularity.
The workout tracking app Strava has become one of the most ubiquitous among runners. According to a spokesperson, its user base has increased by 80 million since 2019. Data from the app suggests running in groups, or clubs, has also spiked.
“Over 20% of runs on the weekend are done with at least one other person,” Strava spokesperson Chloe Thompson told CNN, noting a 12% annual increase in the number of weekend runs done in groups of at least six people.
“People are social beings, and they like to do things together,” said Dr. Hidde Bekhuis, an assistant professor at the Behavioural Science Institute at Radboud University in the Netherlands. While traditional sports clubs are seeing their numbers decline, “informal groups” such as running clubs are seeing their numbers boom, Bekhuis said.
For women, safety in numbers
Men and women can have a very different experience when running alone.
Almost 70% of women have “experienced some form of abusive (behavior)” while running, according to 2024 research conducted by the UK’s University of Manchester. The study surveyed 498 women who ran in the Greater Manchester and Merseyside areas of North West England.
Nevertheless, running is exploding among young women. Strava’s growth among Generation Z women is double what it was last year, according to Thompson. The Strava spokesperson said that “women are 16% more likely to be part of weekend group runs than men, with over half of women in 2024 having participated in a run with at least one other person.”
Establishing a “safe space” for female runners was a primary concern when Molly Slater-Davison founded the all-female run club These Girls Run in York, England.
The club has seen a tripling in the number of venues it hosts in the last year, and Slater-Davison said that safety has been a massive contributor to women joining up.
Feeling unsafe while running alone is “a conversation we have a lot,” she told CNN.
A community of runners and support
Stephen, a member of LGBT+-inclusive club London Frontrunners, said that while “there’s probably a lot of hookups going on,” many people who join are new to the city and looking to form a community.
“I’ve met my best friends here,” the club’s copresident, Wojciech Pankow, told CNN. “I’ve never made these kinds of relationships in the gay community before.”
One of the club’s newer members, Joe, said that dating wasn’t a motivating factor for him and that his mother encouraged him to join.
“I wanted more gay friends,” he said. “All my connection to gay culture was in a very sexualized way. One of the times I came here, I felt kind of euphoric. (The club) breaks down a lot of stereotypes for what being gay is.”
Mental health benefits of community
Runners emphasize the mental health benefits of finding a support network through their groups.
One member of London City Runners, Phil, said that the club had become his family and that he had been “ready to give up on life” before joining.
“I was in a very bad place mentally. A friend told me to come to this place, and since then it’s been great. It’s brought me new friends and a new lease on life.”
‘All about camaraderie’
While it’s true that the dating element was what drew some people to running at first, it’s not what kept them in the game.
“We have marriages, we have children, but romance is a side effect,” said Saes, the NYC Bridge Runners founder. “It’s really all about camaraderie and bringing people together, rather than ‘I’m going to run tonight to meet my next wife.’”
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