This weekend run club in Bengaluru helps people to find new sole mates

Stride Run Club, started by Sidharth Yadav, combines fitness with socialising opportunities for those new to Bengaluru

When Sidharth Yadav moved to Bengaluru this May, he found himself feeling lonely. “I didn’t have any friends,” says the former journalist and content marketer at an IT firm. “I was tired of going to clubs every weekend.”

It didn’t help that he worked remotely, something that happens a lot in Bengaluru. “Many workplaces are hybrid or entirely remote, so that contributes to the loneliness too,” believes Mr. Yadav, who began thinking about other avenues to socialise and “sort of coalesce around a common theme.”

As someone who has been a fitness enthusiast and is currently pursuing a certification in exercise science, the obvious theme was fitness. “So, I decided to start a run club,” says Mr. Yadav, who started the Stride Run Club with exactly three people: he, a friend, and his cousin. They met in the first week of September and ran around Agara Lake in HSR Layout, which went on to become their regular hangout spot.

“Today, two-and-a-half months down the line, we have 70 to 100 people at every run,” he says, adding that they have also managed to build a large online community. “We’ve gained 4K followers on Instagram and have an 1,100-strong community on WhatsApp. And yes, we get a lot of repeat participants.”

Running and socialising

Stride runs, which occur every weekend either on Saturday or Sunday, are structured like this: an ice-breaker session followed by a warm-up, the actual run, and a cooldown session. This is followed by a final socialising segment where games are played before the runners head to a nearby eatery for a cup of coffee. “We just chill there for a bit, and then people go back home and post on Instagram,” says Mr. Yadav.

This emphasis on socialisation makes this run club different from the numerous other running groups that have mushroomed across the city in the last couple of decades, he believes. “I wanted to keep it enjoyable and make fitness and running a social activity,” he says, pointing out that the space is inclusive and welcoming to anyone, irrespective of their fitness level. The focus is not on intensity or pacing but simply to enjoy moving. “Participants can choose to walk too. Or do a mix of walking and running,” he says.

Mr. Yadav says that a typical run has nearly everything a regular nightclub offers, minus the alcohol: music, conversation, and fun. “We also put a stamp on people’s wrist to initiate them into the club,” he says.

Common phenomenon

In his opinion, most white-collar workers from elsewhere who’ve trickled into Bengaluru for work often struggle with loneliness. “These people are fairly aspirational; they’re ambitious in their jobs…but loneliness stems from having your workplace as your only identity,” says Mr. Yadav, who believes that an activity like this is a way for these people to escape that and allow them to be part of a larger social community. “If you have a community or a place to go to every weekend, you can sort of diversify your sources of identity,” he says.

To know more about Stride Run Club, check out their Instagram page @stride_runclub_bengaluru

Published - November 24, 2024 07:00 am IST