Letter From Sydney: Come for a run, stay for a drink: How running clubs took off in Australia

Social running clubs, which have boomed, draw many looking to make friends, keep fit

- Jonathan Pearlman

SYDNEY - On a warm Tuesday evening at Coogee Beach, one of Sydney's most popular beaches, 32-year-old Courtney Tobin admitted to being nervous as she prepared to join a group of strangers for an organised coastal run.

Ms Tobin, a local resident who works in fashion, had decided to try out the Coogee Run Club, one of the many booming social running clubs that have popped up in Sydney in recent years.

The clubs host regular runs, typically of 5km to 10km, and may follow them with coffee, drinks or social events.

Ms Tobin had chosen the Coogee Run Club's "newbie night", which is held on the second Tuesday of every month and caters to newcomers. The route conveniently involves a short 3km jog or a 5km option followed by drinks at a pub across the road from the beach.

Ms Tobin admitted the run had been harder than she expected, and she had to walk some. But, sharing a drink with a friend she had just met - fellow newbie Kirsty Chappell - Ms Tobin said the night had fulfilled both of her expectations: to make new friends in a relaxed and inviting environment, and to take a first tentative, if challenging, step towards getting fit.

"I came because I wanted to socialise and meet people and run a little bit," she said, adding that she was glad she had come even though she was nervous about being able to run at the same pace as other people, and finding someone to talk to.

A GOOD RUN FOR RUN CLUBS Run clubs have existed for decades around the world, but have proliferated in Australia in the past five years.

Their sudden popularity has been attributed to the demand for social contact following the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, the growth of social media platforms helping to spread the word about coming events, and a burgeoning uptake of recreational fitness activities among young people.