My wife and I ran a half marathon in Brooklyn a few weeks ago. If you are a runner, we were probably with probably half of your timeline.
Carl Radke from Bravo’s Garden house? Check. Senator Chuck Schumer, for what reason? Check. Stenographer of the White House and ongoing influencer Kate Mackz? Check (and more about her later). This is not entirely surprising when you consider that around 25,000 people jog this Sunday. But it is a symptom for a bigger, annoying problem.
Run Clubs, Running Influencer, #Runtok and the concept of the trend went too far. It makes running less pleasant.
Am I an old man who shouts a cloud? NO! I am an old man who shouts a group of 40 Jabronis who is dressed in a slim, moisturizing, wild, wild equipment. I scream exactly this group and rump the narrow Williamsburg Bridge Path, three wide, incredibly funny ones, through the lonely hikers and joggers.
If you think I am exaggerated, I’m not. These were the exact conditions of the training runs that my wife and I took. No less than half a dozen times we were completely overwhelmed, and a picnic that is flooded with fit, personal gnotes. And if you believe that I radiate a local, personal complaint in a national publication, you are only half right. Because it is a personal complaint that ultimately has a broader trend.
At first I am not the only one who complains about the overwhelming NYC Run Clubs. A thread blown up on Reddit eight months ago. And it’s not just NYC. It is a hotly discussed edition in Runner forums, in all social media, in Australia and almost everywhere, to a certain extent.
I ran a half marathon in my garden like this viral tweet. I don’t recommend it.
To be clear, I love that people run. I was a runner all my life. Not to brag (but to brag), I did three marathons and ran a backyard for Entertainment Scroll during the Covid Lockdown. My day does not feel completely without jogging and it is cool that more people agree these days. What started as a covidal hobby for many people has become a very popular means of conviviality. Runsignup had 7.4 million racing registrations in 2019. This number was 10.8 million by 2024. Runtok has achieved more than a billion views and attracted large brands such as Nike and Brooks.
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Run clubs themselves are not even the problem, not really. Are neither #runtok nor influencer. It is the confluence of these things that get into a trend rather than an entertaining activity. It is the obsession of the Internet of too much good. It is the same disease that turns every internet thing into something with a massive, bullying line. A 40-minute waiting time for a viral croissant corresponds to the 40-person runner who swallows the sidewalk.
It is great that people turn to walk so much that it was called “New Group Chat”. It’s great to see how people hang Irl while welding nicely. But a group chat with 40 people is just as overwhelmed as a run club of this size. We as a runner have to practice etiquette.
The internet makes you wait in lines. Don’t do it.
My suggestion? Ten people. Has a group of runners No reason be more than 10 people. This gives you many runners with whom you can talk, and enough bodies to take up space from cars and cyclists (don’t even start car culture). But it limits your group so that it is not the street, the sidewalk or the bike path Hanzt. When more than 10 people appear in your run club that day? Sick! I am so happy that you build a community. Share this community in groups of 10, each other. You can all end in the same park and chat according to your jogging.
While I complain, it is also important to note that run clubs have become a good way over much more than running. Some have turned into matchmaking groups. Many running clubs, such as Phillys Slow Girl Run Club, have set themselves the goal of welcoming all sorts of people and making the hobby more accessible. It is really wonderful that you get to know your partner, find friends, get used to a city or build a community by running.
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But we should also be careful before running, the run clubs or the band leader contained therein. One of the things that make running so beautiful is that Someone can do it. Sure, you can output thousands of dollars for the latest shoes, equipment and devices. And you can also put on a few sweat and hit the sidewalk. There is no entry fee for running. You don’t need anyone who tells you how to do it. It is already coded in your DNA. And you certainly do not need an influencer like Mackz, a Brooklynite that relies on the morale of your audience.
But I would argue that Mackz was already a symbol for where to go wrong, they know and cheerfully sold to the Trump administration by interviewing his press spokesman while pretending to have the critical thinking of a goldfish. What started as a harmless Schtick – she interviews people while running – quickly became a vehicle for prominent and naked shillings. Your entire brand used the trend to sell it to sell them to celebrities that are normal. The fun of Runtok, who find runners, is withdrawn for parts and offered for sale.
Sorry, but that’s shit. And no, that does not refer directly to the hordes of runners in runclubs. But it is the same ecosystem. In order to paraphrase reality TV, things are not going for the right reasons. Runclubs are great until they do a run club because everyone does to make a run club. Because here is a little secret: jogging in a group of 40 people can not Be fun for the runners. If you have ever made a race, you know that. The start of a ongoing race is tight and unhappy. They crowd around open paths and are annoyed by turning a ankle. They either either pass or are passed. The packaging of a large group of runners onto the sidewalk, which, as they are mindful, is still occupied by hikers, dogs, children and other runners, is basically restored.
Running should be meditative and funny and difficult and hard on your knees and worthwhile, and the last thing you want to do after a long day, and what you have glad you did as soon as you have done it. Running has been available since … well … because there are people. We don’t have to reinvent the jogging – it does not have to be a trend or more than it is.
Laufen puts one foot in front of the other and repeats itself indefinitely. That is nice. It lies between them and the soil and gravity, and it does not require dozens of comrades to endure witnesses.
