So you want to start a run club? Every month more and more runners decide it’s time to start a run club in their city. And as one of the leaders for the Lisbon Running Community, I love to see it. But as someone in charge of one, I want to help future run club leaders start from the best possible place. So let’s dig into what I see as the most important things you need to know before you start.
Why Do You Run?
The first thing to ask yourself before you start a run club is why do you run? What motivates you to start this club? Is it wanting to make new friends? Have people to train with? Create a community in your city? Whatever your reason, there is (almost) no wrong answer.
The reason you want to start this club should be at the heart of everything you do. For the Lisbon Running Community, everything we do is to support the people we run with. I mean we even made the choice to call ourselves a community instead of a club.
The One Reason to NOT Start a Run Club
If you want to start a run club because you see larger groups partnering with big brands and think it’s an easy way to get free stuff? That’s a bad reason. Managing a run club of that size is not simple and it won’t happen overnight. You need to commit so much time and energy before you *maybe* even reach that point. It’s like starting a TikTok account with the specific goal of becoming an influencer, you won’t succeed.
How Far Do You Run?
Another important question to ask yourself is how far do you want to run? Run clubs that do 5k tend to be more social, while longer distances lend themselves to more serious runners. You could also bring people together for short interval training, or any other distance.
At its heart though, picking how far you want to run depends on how far YOU want to run. Don’t overthink about what other people want to do. You are going to be responsible for this run club and leading all of the runs, make sure it’s a distance that you want to do regularly and not one that will have you waking up in five months hating your choices.
How Fast Do You Run?
Do you envision your run club following a pace where everyone is guaranteed to run together? Or do you see yourself running at whatever pace they want, but potentially running alone? If you’re okay running at a different pace every week you can also have people run at whatever pace they want, with you running sweep. This way every single runner can always slow down to run with someone. It’s what we have done at the Lisbon Running Community for Sunday runs, but we have the advantage of enough volunteers to divide and conquer.
The Problem with “All Paces are Welcome”
One of the most common refrains I see clubs saying is that “All Paces are Welcome”, and then runners show up to discover that they are running alone at the back of the back. There’s nothing wrong with saying that your run club focuses on a specific pace, but there is something wrong with telling people “All Paces are Welcome” and then leaving them to run alone. If you notice that your run club is gravitating towards a specific pace, be honest with people. Tell them they can join, but that most people run at a certain pace.
What’s Your Vibe?
Now that you’ve decided on your reason, your distance, and your pace, you can start figuring out your brand. Although this step isn’t needed to start a run club, it is helpful to tell people exactly why they should join your run club. Are you a safe space for female runners? A group of fast paced runners training for big races? A club designed around run/walk intervals?
Your brand will allow people to see exactly who you are before they show up for their first run. Do you pick a colorful aesthetic, or black and white with bold logos? Is your messaging around how hard you work every week, or how many friends you’ll meet?
When Do You Run?
Once everything is coming together, it’s time to think about when you run. Do you want to be a weekly run club, bi-weekly, monthly? Pick what works for you and then pick a day of the week that works for you too. If you know when the biggest run clubs are meeting in your area, you might not want to choose that day, but again, pick what works best for you.
The Fine Print
There’s one last thing to do before you launch, and that’s create a liability waiver and photo release form. It’s always better to have these things sorted before you start running so no one will ever be surprised if their face ends up on Instagram. It doesn’t have to be a fancy form, just a simple thing to put in your Instagram bio.
Time to Launch
Once you’re ready to launch, create a Strava and Instagram page. If you only want to do one, make it the Strava. This will allow other people to easily search your run club and for you to grow organically from people searching for run clubs in your area.
Down the Road
Once your group has launched, don’t expect overnight success. Give it some time to grow and be ready for your first runs to be small. But also start looking for people who would want to help support your club. The Lisbon Running Community offers a minimum of three runs a week (more in the summer) and we are able to do this because we have a team of eight community leaders running things behind the scenes. Growing into a large run club isn’t easy, and the best way to do it is with support.
My Final Thoughts
At the end of the day a successful run club is created by their leaders understanding their own limits. Commit to what you can do, don’t try to force yourself into something because it’s what everyone else is doing. That’s the true secret to success.
Sadie Lowell 
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