Run Clubs are the new dating apps

The singles running club is the brainchild of Lunge founder Steve Cole and Rachael Lansing, a New York-based fitness coach. The two met through a mutual connection in the industry and envisioned a weekly meetup where singles could chat with each other in a casual, fitness-based environment. They’ve added a few twists to a traditional club: encouraging those hoping to find a date to wear black to telegraph their availability, and leading the group to a post-jog bar, where everyone can mingle (and hopefully the, the sparks will continue to fly).

Cole, a former college athlete, came up with the idea for his app after noticing how frustrated his generation was with the state of online dating and feeling like there had to be a way to make connections. in-person connections more easily. The Lunge Run Club, for him, is the best of both worlds. This relieves pressure by creating an environment in which it’s clear who’s looking for love (avoiding, he says, the weirdness of hitting on someone who might be kidnapped) without making dating the sole purpose of the relationship. ‘event.

“I think there needs to be a comfortable space where you can expose yourself and be a little more intentional,” he tells me.

Cole and Lansing, however, were shocked by how quickly their idea took off. Since May, she’s racked up more than 25,000 followers on Instagram, and Howard tells me that the race she participated in received more than 1,000 RSVPs. Like Howard, Lansing attributes his growth to a fear of modern dating.

“It took off a lot faster than we expected, but I think we always knew that this was a community that New York City wanted and missed and that would eventually show up in our numbers.” , she said, adding that it even worked for her. Lansing met her now boyfriend at one of the races.

But while Lunge Run Club is probably the most viral iteration of this trend, run-for-love clubs are a national phenomenon. Angioletti says she naturally started attending free fitness events in hopes of meeting someone after realizing that trying to find a match at a bar or club didn’t make much sense to her , because going out is not something she likes to do. hers (and she hates apps too).

“I made the decision to only focus my energy on the things I love and enjoy and hope to meet my person along the way,” she tells me. “Since I love fitness, I thought going to a running club would be a unique way to meet someone who also shares my passion for fitness.”

She agrees that singles these days are willing to think outside the box.

“I think a lot of people like me are burned out from trying to date in the ‘conventional’ way,” she says. “Running clubs have turned meetings into a casual social event.”