London’s run club culture is so widespread that it’s easy to feel like you’re missing out on something special if you’re not a runner. These clubs provide more than just cardio: they offer a social scene and motivation to get outside, even on the city’s dreariest days.
Recently, the phenomenon has evolved beyond canal-side jogs and park sprints: run clubs are starting, finishing and even pausing at cafes, pubs and bakeries, giving community members a chance to bond with a snack or drink in hand.
Runners at Peckham Pacers – whose motto is “pints, pizzas and PBs” – finish their routes with a beer on the house at Eko Brewery. Croissant Run Club has outposts across London and finishes at a different bakery or cafe every week. There’s also Run Dusty, a relaxed club that supports independent breweries and bars such as Five Points and Howling Hops. Its founders love finishing a run with a craft IPA, resulting in monthly residencies with east London boozers and breweries. On Thursday evenings, everyone meets for an easy five or eight kilometres before heading to the month’s venue for a free pint (the group also hosts the occasional longer weekend run, plus track sessions and pub crawl-style events).
“As a run club that’s all about community, it just makes sense to bring that support right back to local independent spots,” co-founder Adam Ha tells Broadsheet.
It’s an approach that has been taken by cyclists for years – and is specifically catered to by cycle cafes, many of which have now closed, including Look Mum No Hands on Old Street and London Velo in Deptford. The team at Bloomsbury’s Fortitude Bakehouse tells Broadsheet anywhere between 15 and 100 cyclists stop by each morning for a coffee and pastry. Cycling community Cyclo Club was the first to do so during Covid restrictions. General manager Hew Clements tells Broadsheet the group’s support at the time was invaluable, and as thanks, members now receive a discount at the bakery. Clements sees the daily rush as a positive. “It’s a really good way for us to kickstart the day in that first half an hour to an hour.”
And hospitality venues aren’t just becoming part of the route; several have formed their own run clubs. Running Late Coffee in Hackney – a pint-sized coffee shop co-founded by Sean Geraghty and Tom Gathercole – is a prime example. Their club was initially created to promote the cafe’s early opening hours and encourage as many people as possible to come together outside of the shop. The first session was only attended by the pair’s housemates and friends, but things quickly took off.
“We thought it’d be a bit of a buzz around the shop, and then we [realised] this is the highlight of our week,” says Gathercole. “It’s actually such an important part of what gives us joy … and it’s great for the locals around us.”
Running Late has three sessions a week: a Wednesday five-kilometre run, a Thursday evening track session and the option to run five, 10 or 15 kilometres on Saturday mornings. All pace groups are led by regular customers. Most of the sessions start and finish at the shop, where runners can enjoy a free coffee. And the cafe has expanded its program: it now also has a sunrise Pilates club, Tuesday morning walk club, a book club, a craft club and a hiking club. All are free apart from Pilates, which is led by an instructor in London Fields for £16 per person. Running Late is also a popular pit stop for other Hackney-based run clubs, including Puresport and the women-only group Hot Boys.
Victoria Park’s Pavilion cafe also has its own free run club, led by Hackney Wick strength and conditioning gym Groundwork Training. Runners are accompanied by coaches every Sunday at 8.30am (so as not to interfere with the morning rush) for an easy five kilometres, and everyone finishes at the cafe with a free Origin americano. There’s a real team spirit here – early finishers happily hang out at the cafe until all the runners have arrived, which members find motivating. And if you can’t finish the run, you can just head straight to the cafe.
“Everyone comes for that bit just as much as they come for the run, which is really lovely,” Groundwork Training founder and CEO Katherine Berlie tells Broadsheet. “But it also means that if people have questions, there’s a coach there who can help facilitate and give a little bit of advice.” Berlie says many long-distance runners show up to complete the run, grab a coffee, then continue onwards – proving that the social aspect is the hero of these clubs.
What’s most appealing is that the socialising doesn’t end once runners leave the cafe. For Run Dusty, Ha says “the best part is seeing real friendships, and even the occasional romance, grow out of it … watching this community grow from nothing into something that makes a real difference in people’s lives has been amazing.”
As Running Late’s Geraghty puts it: “You can't really pay for that.”
