Will you really meet the love of your life at a run club?

It’s a greige day in East London, and I’m running towards what feels like an impossible finish line overlooking the River Thames. As someone who’s vehemently against running for pleasure, it’s frankly amazing that the finish line is in sight at all. I can hear the blood rushing in my ears. My mouth is drier than ever. My heart, to put it bluntly, feels like it might fall out of my arse. But the encouraging shouts from my fellow comrades at viral run club Runnpac keep me from collapsing to the ground and waving my white flag. Even with my Bluetooth headphones in, I can hear the calls from the sidelines: ​“Come on! You’re almost there!”

How did I end up in this predicament? Via the place where all good – but mostly bad – internet lore starts: TikTok.

Scrolling through my For You page one evening, the algorithm decided to throw a run club video my way. Normally, I’d quickly scroll on, but a cohort of not unfortunate looking men of various builds and races – some topless – running to Tommy Richman’s Million Dollar Baby stopped me in my tracks.

​“Sigh let me go buy running trainers”, read the top comment. ​“What run club is this?” said another. Runnpac was quickly identified as the club in question. Within seconds, I’d sent the clip to multiple friends with a simple sentence: ​“Lads, WE’RE RUNNING.” Could this be our answer to our fitness and dating woes?

Using run clubs as a means to strike up friendships, find a safe space or even a romantic partner has been a concept long before TikTok’s FYP thrust them into the limelight. Cast your mind back to season 4, episode 6 of Sex and The City: some will remember it as the episode where Samantha has sex with a man who loves using baby talk in bed; others will remember it as the episode where Miranda joins a run club, dates a guy we only know as ​“marathon man”, before (spoiler alert) discovering he likes to rim women and quickly realising that she doesn’t like to rim men. A love story for the ages.

Fictional aspects aside, it was an early example of how taking up a hobby can not only have health benefits but also leave you with hook-up stories you’ll be rehashing for years to come. Perhaps a longing for a sense of adventure, community and whirlwind romances is why 2025 London Marathon applications hit record numbers this year. According to the BBC, ​“more than 840,000 applications had been received, smashing the previous record of 578,000 set by last year’s ballot.” It’s happening stateside, too, with runners even adopting an all-black dress code ​“to identify other single runners”. Lunge Run Club is currently the top singles run club in New York, with 24,000 followers on Instagram.

So, what are we running away from – or towards? The rise of run clubs has been brewing in the UK since 2023, when Hackney’s Wizz Air Half Marathon had more attendees than ever before. Retailers want in too: Gymshark is cashing in on our need for speed and spearheading two London-based clubs and one in Birmingham. Psychosexual and relationship therapist Juliette Clancy believes the uptick in people joining run clubs boils down to a lack of intimacy during COVID-19.

​“Now we’re free again, we go out, we meet people,” she says. ​“But I also think that this whole Tinder thing, and stuff like that, has made a big difference. People don’t want to do that anymore.”

The dating pool is shark-infested. Bumble, the app famous for making women swipe and message a love interest first, is reportedly struggling, with 57 per cent of women on the app saying they feel unsafe dating online. Exercise, on the other hand, is all about feeling good. Pair that with socialising and you have a recipe for success.

​“Any form of exercise pumps up your endorphins – whether it’s a gym or a run club. It’s a place where like-minded people meet – there’s also something about the fact that [when] people feel good, it makes you feel better and more attractive,” says Clancy.

Plus, there’s nothing to hide behind when it comes to running. It’s a form of pure, raw exercise that allows you to meet people at their most vulnerable and bare-faced. ​“Running is just another place where people get a sense of belonging; another way to express a longing to be more authentic. You’re not running in makeup, you’re in your trainers and you’ve got your tracksuit on.” And it’s precisely that shedding of egos that makes the environment ripe for creating genuine and, hopefully, long-lasting relationships.

Literally running into the love of your life at a run club sounds like the start of an E.L. James book – that is, too good to be true. But the running meet-cute fantasy has become so popular that dating apps are beginning to capitalise on the trend. Thursday, a dating app that only functions on that one day, deviated from their rule in June and introduced a Saturday running sesh. Elsewhere this summer, Tinder teamed up with running app Runna to launch a series of run clubs across central London called – drumroll – SoleMates.

​“The dinner date isn’t completely dead, it’s just no longer the ​‘default’ IRL date experience,” says Joanna Pons, Tinder’s UK Senior Marketing Director. ​“It’s no surprise we’re seeing the emergence of trends such as ​‘stack dating’”. What exactly does that mean? ​“Dating needs to fit into busy daily lives, whether that be quick coffees or even a running date. When it comes to running clubs, we’ve seen the popularity ourselves as it’s currently one of the top trending Tinder profile-tagged interests. So this gave us the idea of whether we could combine dating with a run series.”

But let’s say you joined a run club at the start of summer and you’re yet to meet the love of your life. What happens now? Well, my experience at Runnpac quashed all expectations. I found that, at its core, the club was less about finding someone you could race off into the sunset with and more about building meaningful, platonic connections.

Running alongside two women, Sesen and Helena, both 24, who were also first-timers (“We found the club through TikTok, it looked like a vibe!”), there was a sense of morale in the air as we egged each other on, stopped to take selfies, and ran, walked and panted along the Greenwich Peninsula. A coach even hung back with us to make sure we didn’t get lost en route.

That family-like atmosphere is exactly why Zachia Wellington has been attending for six months. She decided to join the club in January (naturally) after she realised she could hardly complete a 5K following a messy New Year’s night out. ​“I stopped about eight times [during the first run] and I thought this is off-brand for me. I’m a super competitive person and once I started Runnpac, I noticed an improvement.”

Did she see the viral TikTok video of her fellow Runnpac members? Yes. What does she think of the thirsting over some of the runners? ​“People were saying they’re joining the club to find their husband. When you see the vibe here, I think you’ll be shocked by the reality,” she says, laughing. The likelihood of you heading to the altar after a few Runnpac sessions are very slim, she reckons. ​“That’s not necessarily going to happen here. Everyone is ​‘on job’, so to speak. Maybe afterward if you’re mingling, you might find your man or a woman. Everyone takes running seriously. There’s a good community of people here – and coaches – that are inspiring.”

Runpac founder Jay has noticed an influx of members after those steamy TikTok videos, though. Does he endorse a little more than running at the club? ​“It’s naturally going to happen and people will be attracted to each other,” he says. ​“I’m for connections. The club started because I wanted to start a run club where not only can people [exercise, but also] socialise and connect.”

Following my chat with Jay, I bump into Luciano, one of the men in the much-shared TikTok video. Is he aware of his recent virality? ​“I don’t have a TikTok account but I’ve seen videos of the club on Instagram.” But he’s not looking for his type on paper or on the track – in fact, far from it. Luciano originally joined because ​“he saw his sisters attend one week.” His familial bond has strengthened as a result.

Run clubs don’t look to be going anywhere anytime soon – even if the gloomy autumn weather makes going for a jog less enticing. In fact, they’re on track to replace our usual modes of socialising.

​“Gen Z, in particular, are straying from the usual pub or bar dates in favour of more light-hearted activities sans alcohol, like picnics, running, movies or even concerts – creating a dating environment which allows the real you to shine through,” concludes Clancy. Maybe you’ll meet your soulmate at a run club and end up going the distance. Perhaps you’ll go make some lifelong pals. There’s even a chance you’ll go once and never again.

Will I be back? The jury’s still out. Charli’s officially declared the end of Brat summer and I can’t escape the niggling feeling that cuffing season is just around the corner. Maybe I’ll take one for the team.