Running Clubs: Why Modern Daters Are Swapping Apps For Laps

People don’t go to running clubs to run, Steve Cole, CEO of the TikTok-famous Lunge Run Club, once said. If a torrent of Lunge runners wearing black workout gear have ever rushed past you, then you’d probably beg to differ. But Cole is telling the truth: People don’t go to running clubs to run, per se, but to find The One.

Back in December, Strava — a running and hiking app where users are known to occasionally slide into each other’s DMs — published its year-end trend report compiled from its own user activity (it has approximately 135 million users) and a survey of over 5,000 people. It reported a 59% increase in running club participation in 2024 alone. More than half of the survey’s respondents reported making new friends at fitness groups, and one in five Gen Zers went on a date with someone they met through a fitness group.

For Gen Z, romance has less to do with swiping left or right and more to do with real world connections. All young daters needed was a worldwide pandemic to remind them of the romantic possibilities of the outside world.

Young People Are Seeking Authentic, Real-World Connections

Running clubs were popular before the pandemic, but it took an extended quarantine for more people to swap their phones for their sneakers.

By now, it’s no secret to people in the dating industry that apps are losing traction. After growing up in a society that emphasized virtual connectivity, young people are more curious about what in-person connections have to offer. It worked for their parents and grandparents. There’s no reason why it can’t work for them, too, right?

The success of running clubs suggests there’s a market for niche interests in the dating industry. It also suggests that people are open to meeting in person at social events where they share a common interest. As social scientist Sebnem Ture wrote for Psychology Today, “Birds of a feather flock together” — and so do humans. “There is a greater chance that they will instantly enjoy being with people who share similar characteristics since they tend to feel that they connect more with them.”

Running clubs are even figuring out ways to make connecting with people less intimidating for singles who may not be used to doing so in-person. At Lunge Run Club in New York, participants wear black to signal their single status. It’s a clear message to those who are interested in meeting new people that they’re open to a conversation.

In an interesting twist, Lunge Run Club has grown so popular that it created its own dating app so runners can match with each other at Lunge events. In fact, the social aspect of the run club is more important at Lunge than the exercise. In an interview with USA Today’s Alyssa Goldberg, Cole said that Lunge is “people-oriented first, running second.”

“We wanted to create this kind of event where it is a lot easier to meet active and like-minded individuals,” he added. Each run club “meeting” has the same general structure: a three-mile run that always ends at a bar, where the sweaty-but-energized runners can share some beers, relax, and get to know each other without the pressures that come with a “real” date.

When Goldberg asked one runner to explain what the club is like, she said it was “like Hinge in real life.”

Like a dating app, but without the doomscrolling, the recycled ice breakers, or the heavily edited profile pics. A recent Freeman survey suggests that young people are craving these types of in-person connections more than ever. In fact, 82% of surveyed Gen Zers said they want to feel more comfortable expressing themselves and interacting with people in person.

It’s possible that the “young people” who jumped at the chance to meet people via dating apps are not quite as young as they used to be. With a new generation of young people to determine what’s “in” and what’s “out,” it seems Gen Z has decided that dating apps are on the way out if they can’t figure out a way to make online connections more authentic.

Running Clubs Have Become Social Hotspots

Dating apps are increasingly seen as cold and inauthentic, and even inefficient. As Gen Z ages, they’re looking for apps that are used as stepping stones to in-person connections, not solely as the place connections are formed. But why running clubs, of all things?

Despite what “Baywatch” reruns want you to think, running usually isn’t sexy. It’s sweaty and exhausting and often painful. Runners see each other at their most vulnerable. They’re typically barefaced, wearing unflattering gym clothes, and smelling, well, like they just ran a mile. They watch each other push their bodies to the limit, and often encourage each other to fight through the muscle aches and stomach cramps. When you strip away filters and corny pick-up lines — and the expectation of making a romantic first impression — what you’re left with is an authentic opportunity for connection.

Running clubs facilitate vulnerability, authenticity, and even bonding — three surprisingly sexy words.

Cooldown Running, a running club-turned-athletic gear brand, markets itself as a place for people with an interest in running to hang out and form lasting bonds. Like many other running clubs, Cooldown facilitates authentic connections by organizing post-run social events and regular get-togethers. Its online presence — it has over 65k followers on Instagram — is proof enough that it resonates with people. In one Instagram reel, a couple jogged together as they explained how Cooldown led to their romance. “We just started going on runs with some mutual friends and got to know each other,” they said.

It sounds obvious, but to young daters, this kind of in-person connection is few and far between.

On TikTok, a runner explained how another uber-popular running club, Venice Run Club, helped her establish a healthy social routine. “I work from home, so I’m not out and about that much, but I come here religiously,” she said. When another runner was asked how to meet people in L.A., he said, “Through your own hobbies, and doing things in person. Here we are!”

According to Venice Run Club’s TikTok account, the opportunity for romance is a huge benefit to joining a running club. “It’s always cuffing season at Venice Run Club,” one video is captioned.

Asking one’s name and relationship status seems to be one of the first questions asked at VRC and many other run clubs.

Just look at Lunge, which has turned its simple run club into a full-fledged social movement. Cole may have been onto something when he said that people don’t go to run clubs to run.
The popularity of running clubs doesn’t necessarily point to a collective passion for exercise, but it does suggest that singles are looking for offline ways to make authentic romantic connections.