Why Most Solo Runners Will Never Join a Run Club

[00:00:00] Most runners train alone. And honestly, that’s the beauty of running, unlike most every other sport, you can just do it. No team, no court, no schedule. It favors the loners and the introverts. But there’s something I’ve found over the years that’s actually kept me more consistent than any training plan.

[00:00:19] And on paper, I wouldn’t have guessed it. It’s finding someone, a group, a community of people who get what you’re going through, who run at your level, and who make you show up. When you really don’t want to, welcome to the 1% better runner. I’m Daren D Lake. I started running in New York City USA 30 years ago and somehow ended up in Sydney, Australia, where I found a running community that changed everything faster times and lifelong friends stuff.

[00:00:44] I never got running alone, so I sat down with three people who’ve built some of Sydney’s biggest running communities from nothing, and I asked them what actually makes runners keep showing up? All right, starting with Tara Meekins here. You are the founder of Kochi Run Club, one of Sydney’s fastest growing grassroots running communities, a freelance journalist and rebel run ambassador.

[00:01:06] She’s taking a crew of coastal joggers and turn them into something that feels less like a club and more like a movement. Okay, so a question for you. Could she run club? Didn’t run ads. No budget, no marketing plan. Just kept showing up. As a journalist, you understand what makes content actually travel.

[00:01:22] What did you deliberately do to build the club’s audience? And what just happened by accident? Um, very good question. I just kept posting from the very beginning. Social media was our biggest tool in creating our community. We started, uh, almost four years ago now, and we started out with two runs a week.

[00:01:40] We’ve now ended up with five runs. I dunno how that happened. Five too many I always say, but it is incredible. We run so often together and I just kept posting on our social media that what we were doing. I was very clear with our runs and then trying to cover what exactly was happening. We were running, we were not just.

[00:01:56] Running, but we were also sticking around afterwards and having a coffee or a drink or breakfast or whatever it was. But it was just really portraying that it wasn’t just about the run, it was about the community. And I think, you know, this is a year or so after COVID, people were desperate for that sense of community and belonging and feel or part of something.

[00:02:13] Like I always. Day, I think after COVID, people didn’t just wanna go to the gym anymore. That wasn’t just gonna be enough for them. They wanted that belonging and community and, and sense of um, you know, friendships and fun and all this. So, you know, I established this community and I only ever thought it was gonna be like 10 runners twice a week.

[00:02:28] And that was it. And now, almost four years later, we’ve got 4,600 members that we run together five times a week. And it’s that repetition of seeing each other during the week. So much like, I don’t know any other run club, free social run club, you know, possibly the world that runs as much as we do. But it’s that, that consistency, that reason to.

[00:02:44] Keep showing up every single day almost. And I always joke, we see each other more than we see our families, which is a really huge thing. And you know, it’s like we’re back at school almost. Like it’s saying, oh yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. And you know, we, we stop after our run and have coffee, which is kinda like recess.

[00:02:57] And it’s just this beautiful routine and like, you know, could, she’s a really, um, big demographic of a lot of overseas people that, of English, Irish, Scottish. And they come and it’s like they’ve got this routine from the get go. It’s not like, you know, oh, we’ll see you next week ’cause it’s once a week run club.

[00:03:11] We, we see each other. Five times a week. So there’s that reason to just keep showing up. And I think that’s what I just wanted to portray from the very beginning, that we were gonna be there for everyone. You know, I was always very certain that no matter what the weather, you know, rain, hail, shine, or hangover, we’d show up, we turn up and it just creates that sense of consistency.

[00:03:29] And I think it’s sort of comes down to it’s being consistent and being, um, really present on online as well as in person, and just creating this wonderful community that draws people to it. I love that. Could g Run Club is synonymous with you? Mm-hmm. ’cause it’s like the human, it’s not just this like big, all encompassing thing.

[00:03:46] Like I, it’s like Tara from Could G Run Club and could run Club Tara for, uh, Americans that might be watching Cee is a beach next to Bondi and it’s on the eastern suburbs here in Sydney, Australia. Could quick one everything. Tara Beck and Keith, uh, just said and will say assumes you can. Actually hang when you show up for your group or club run.

[00:04:07] And if you’re not there yet with your fitness or you’re coming back from a break off of running, I got you. ’cause I built a free base trending plan that’ll get your easy pace, long run and weekly mileage to a spot where no run club on this earth. We’ll spit you out and decline you, and you can actually keep up with them.

[00:04:23] Go get that at the QR code on the screen or below in a description if you’re watching or listening to this anywhere else, YouTube, et cetera. Let’s find out what Beck thinks about community. Alright, next we’ve got Beck Bridge. Mohan, who is a triathlete runner, obviously, uh, health and lifestyle content creator.

[00:04:44] Washes her bicycle regularly, which is like, I look, I, I’m a hardcore cyclist and I, I don’t like washing my bike. I’m just like, oh, I gotta, you have to. And I was like, you need to. It’s just a lot of work. Uh, and probably the only person on the internet making running look genuinely joyful. She’s built an audience around the idea that health can be fun, which most fitness content completely.

[00:05:07] Forgets, myself included. I get too caught up in the times and all that. Mm-hmm. So most brands are trying to build a community online and are posting into the void. What are these brands getting wrong? I think sometimes we get so caught up in like goals, achievements, chasing more and more and more and more.

[00:05:24] And the thing that I’m noticing even on social media, in anything that somebody’s trying to grow is that they’re so focused on the end goal and. When you do that, like you’re never gonna get as far as you can if you don’t enjoy the journey. And I think as much as it’s so fun to chase a goal and run a marathon and run a PB and all of that, and I of course love that it is so fundamental to, you know, my page as well and what I do in my life.

[00:05:51] But if you aren’t having fun along the way, like what is the point? And. Like, no one’s gonna remember your marathon time, but you are gonna remember how you felt during that marathon. And like those experiences, I personally have carried so much and like learned so much out of that, that I think if you lean into that you are gonna get farther and perform better than just always being so serious.

[00:06:14] And I always say it all the time, like it’s not that deep, like it’s really not that deep, but like having fun and enjoying life and like taking in the small moments. It is that deep. And so I’m always gonna lean into that. That is so well said. And that’s something I’m finally coming to realize with chasing these times.

[00:06:32] It’s like no one cares. Like no, no one cares. No one cares. Like they, they care, but like they don’t care. Then they don’t. And I’m like, will people really watch more of my stuff because I hit this time and stuff? No, they won’t. Not really. So why am I like stressing about all this, you know? Yeah, absolutely.

[00:06:45] And yeah, that is beautiful points. Uh, Beck is from North America. And North America is not just the United States. Canada’s there too on American. Uh, yeah. Canada and Mexico are in North America. Oh yeah. Next up we’ve got Keith Hong. Keith Buzz Hong. I love the buzz in there. He is an entrepreneur, documentary filmmaker, events producer, co-captain of TCS, Sydney Marathon pacing team.

[00:07:09] Or you were previously an advisor on the Bondi to Manly Ultra, and you did a whole bunch of stuff at, uh, Ballarat Marathon last year. I did, yes. Yeah. And are you doing it? I, I wear, I wear a lot of hats and I think I’m, I’m in a very interesting position where I’m, I’m both a runner myself in the live experience and I, my other hat that I wear, I’m behind the scene, able to put together experience that all four of us here truly enjoy and embrace.

[00:07:37] And that is a. It’s a very pri privilege. So you’ve been on both sides of the camera and both sides of the start line. Question for you, you’ve co-captain, so estimate 24,000 runners probably. Plus, through an experience you helped design and you’ve made a documentary about the ultra trail world, which I watched.

[00:07:56] I went to that opening. Is that 10 years ago? Yeah. Yeah. It was 2016. And I remember, I remember Senior met and then like, we met really quick and then it wasn’t until years later that we, I was like, that was a guy did documentary. Uh, so what actually makes people come back to a race, to a club, to a brand?

[00:08:11] ’cause that’s, retention is the hardest thing. It, it is. I mean, you look at both. Taras is a great example. A design experience versus I call a live experience. What the law of brands and corporates who are new to uh, this space, they’ll often want to. Bring what they call the design experience that designs something that’s aligned with the brand.

[00:08:31] And yet often they are, they don’t bring people who are within the community along the journey or what brings people back into Sydney Marathon. They keep coming back, not just Sydney Marathon, but the whole pacing team is they bring the people that has the right personality. Pacing is very simple. If you put it all down to the paper, it’s just about you get the splits, you have the time, you have the energy and the uh, the passion to do it.

[00:08:57] But there’s a very curated process to ensure that it’s not just the stats, but it’s the people. ’cause ultimately, when you are at the darkest part of your marathon, the 30 kilometer or the 20 mile, it’s not just the pacers. The pacers are there to be your anchor. Be the spiritual advisor to go. You gotta keep going.

[00:09:18] And those curated selections makes people come back and often those runners have those support of those paces and they become a new experience, a new person, a new athlete, and they go, yeah, it was that pivoted pivoting point of that race by those paces. And that brings them a very anchored feeling that makes them go, I wanna go back to that race.

[00:09:43] ’cause they make me feel so important. They gave me the support and love, much like the community that Tara has built at CU Durron Club and the group that back has been evolved. So it’s all those emotive thing that brands need to remember to bring those live experience in the live design and not just a.

[00:10:02] Um, formal brand around it. So you really see now a lot of brands have moved away from the invi in individuality component to now the group. What is the group experience doing? You see brands now, instead of doing big races, big sponsorship. The curating group experiences very curated. NY is one that has been creating unique small bespoke races for small urban group.

[00:10:29] IC is starting to do a lot of that, so it’s, it’s good to see that that shift from singular to, I think the, uh, underlying. Tie, tie through thread here is feeling an emo an emotion. Uh, you know, it’s community. And then yeah, you guys have elevated running’s a team sport really is, yeah. Yeah. Really, really is.

[00:10:50] Alright, so throwing it out for everyone, the group here. Just jump in. Every brand right now is trying to build community. Most of them are failing ’cause it is hard. Can’t AI your way to it. Uh, you’ve done it all. You have I have not. I community is something I have not done. Um, so I’m learning from you.

[00:11:09] What are they missing? What am I missing? I think sometimes when brands get involved with communities or they try and they try and piggyback like on run clubs a lot and you see it all the time, the brands are always just trying to link in with a run club and basically use that club to echo their messages or, or their product and hope that, you know, they can hit our market.

[00:11:32] And often, I mean, four years ago I was doing this stuff for free and you know, giving these brands access to my community. Built really, you know, a lot of work had gone into that and I think in those kind of instances it’s a bit like see-through, I think it’s very obvious what, what they’re trying to do.

[00:11:47] And it may not even impact our experience, like overwhelmingly positively, or it might just feel a bit cheapened. Um, I think now, like this year especially, brands are really like sinking their teeth and sort of more investing in partnerships that they do with us, which has been like so wonderful. We have been involved in some amazing activations this year.

[00:12:07] I’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the business, like Nike, Sydney Swans, like we did an amazing event for them a few months ago, and I was so involved. Our whole crew was involved. We had an amazing morning with them. There was like, so much, um, collaboration together and it felt like, you know, they needed us and they wanted to work with us.

[00:12:24] And it was a real like, feeling of respect and that they saw what we did and they were, you know, they kept saying, you are the experts in this. You lead us. And that is such a difference from like me working with brands three, four years ago where they’re like, oh, well we’re gonna come to you. We’re gonna do this.

[00:12:37] And they told us what to do and now it’s like we work together. And that’s just where the magic happens, I think. And I think it’s where audiences see it more as like. I think authenticity is the biggest word that I always keep coming back to, like social media or in person. If you are your, you are authentically if you are, if you are yourself.

[00:12:52] And like that’s what I always say about like in my singles run club that I also run. Um, it’s about showing up as yourself just sweatier. And like some people think a singles run, club’s weird. ’cause they’re like, why would I wanna turn up all sweaty and gross? That’s you, that’s you and your, you know, your maybe your, your worst day ’cause you’re sweaty in your red face.

[00:13:07] But like, that’s you and if you’re gonna be with someone, you want ’em to see the most authentic version of you. Not some fake version, you know, done up for a date kind of thing. So. And I think that’s with everything, like with social media, get on there and talk about your vulnerabilities. Like, and I think that’s what you’ve been saying back as well, like you’re, you’re just yourself.

[00:13:21] You turn up, you, you, you are, you are who you are. You talk about, you know, maybe, you know, you are a slower runner, you’re going on an easier run or something like that. But when you show up online or in person and you are just out there, you know, no walls up or anything like that. I think that’s what.

[00:13:37] Really hooks audiences and they see that and they wanna be a part of that ’cause they feel seen and they feel like they belong. And so, I don’t even know if answered your question now, but I think like when it’s come back to brands, I think when they kind of hook onto that as well, and it is no longer about being the fastest or the biggest community out there, I think it’s the one that’s like most connecting with people around you.

[00:13:58] And I think that’s what is the, the key ingredient to, to brands work and activations is when we all work in this beautiful ecosystem where, uh, we just make the most out of our. Of each other and it’s just, it ends up often being these beautiful events. So it’s honestly, it’s a thrill now to work with brands who really see that.

[00:14:14] Depends on where the stage of that brand is. If there’s a new product, it’s no longer just about, Hey, we have X product to give to your X Runners. It’s, it’s sort curating those experience that now Tara mentioned and it goes back to the whole lived experience. You bring them along the journey and not say, rock up, we will give you sample, this new drink or this new product or trial, this piece of gear.

[00:14:41] What, what’s, what else? After the whole experience, how else are we gonna keep them engaged? And you really build that brand loyalty, not just from the singular point, it’s what’s beyond that. But they do tend to now stay with one group. ’cause they, they, they will go, right, we are now building, we are, we are building their relationship.

[00:14:59] But, but the loyalty. Goes beyond that. So that trial wear tests, you can see that’s happening a lot more frequently now. And so with new models, but now wear test happens almost every other week, sometimes from the same brand. ’cause they want Is that the new, the new sneaker? Like a new sneaker and then they.

[00:15:15] Okay, cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very much so. It’s called Wear test? Yes. Wear test. Okay. So am I. Yeah. Oh yeah, massively. It’s so common now, like brands will wanna get their shoe in front of your group ’cause we’re the market. So they’ll come along and they’ll bring like 50 pairs of like sample shoes or, or whatever they’re wear test shoes.

[00:15:30] It’s like a whole range. They have a whole thing of wear test shoes and they’ll take the run to loads of run clubs and just get ’em into their shoes, which is so valuable to us because to try a shoe, you know, not just in a shop, but to get out and do a 5K run, it’s amazing. And it works both ways for them and for us.

[00:15:42] So I think it’s a really great piece of work, but it’s, yeah, it’s definitely a very. Common now with lots of brands doing that, which is great. What are brands missing? What are they doing wrong? Yeah, I think, um, we don’t give enough credit to the consumer, like the, the world that we live in is continuing to evolve and change as fast as people are as well.

[00:15:59] And so the traditional marketing tactics aren’t working anymore, and that value alignment is so critical and important nowadays. And so the average consumer isn’t just gonna buy something because. Your favorite influencer tells you, um, there has to be that value alignment and there has to be that authenticity, like you said, um, in order to understand why that product might work for that consumer.

[00:16:24] And so I think as we’re seeing these community activations continue to grow and change and what brands are doing differently, it’s tapping into, you know, is that aligned to our values as like the brand and whatever community run club. Influencer that you are working with, and that is going to go so much further with the average consumer like we can see through ads these days.

[00:16:46] And that marketing tactic of just talking about some product doesn’t work. And when you have that kind of natural integration and that alignment with. The however you’re working with that brand goes so much further. And I kind of always say like, it takes so long to build trust, but it takes seconds to break it.

[00:17:03] And I think we’re seeing that like time and time and time again when people are just being like really salesy and really like, it’s so clear that things are an ad where if you are just working with a brand because you and the brand are aligned, fundamentally it’s gonna go so much further. I think the proofs in the pudding as well.

[00:17:23] Um, and I, I probably you get this as well back, but like the posts that do uh, not as good are often like the ones with the biggest brands. Like I’ve found that I’ve worked with some really big brands, but the posts just only get like a few thousand. You know, our reels only get a few thousand views and I think it’s ’cause people just see straight through it.

[00:17:39] It’s a straight ads because it’s like. Did. It’s so, it’s so salesy or it’s just like, you know, 30 seconds of us running together or something like that. Yeah. In a, in a shoe or something like, and they just don’t do well. And I’m always like, how is this not working? Like I’ve called, I’ve this great rise. Mm.

[00:17:52] But it’s just like not getting the traction. Whereas like I could do a dumb bridger dress. Yeah. It’s like half a million views, which is just wild. Yeah. Like I think there needs to be some kind of like more sense of. Or fun or authenticity as you keep saying, or like our voices in it, which, you know, if we get up there and we talk about it more and we maybe talk about how it integrates into our lives or, or something like that, maybe that as well.

[00:18:14] I mean, I don’t know if it’s your experience there. Yeah, no, I definitely think that like there is gonna be this big shift with how brands work with. Like influencers and on social media, and it’s gonna move from individual campaigns into more ambassador roles because there’s gonna be that value alignment.

[00:18:28] It’s gonna be like, oh, this is actually integrated in my life and in my routine. Um, and that is going to. Resonate with people so much more. Like I know if I see an ad for some product, for some supplement or something and I’m like, Ugh, I’ve if I’ve seen it once with that person, and then you never see it again.

[00:18:44] It’s like you don’t actually believe in that and there isn’t that value alignment. But if you see somebody talk about the same thing over and over and over and over again, you’re like, oh no, this actually works. They actually believe in it. It’s actually integrated in their life. And maybe then would it.

[00:18:57] Resonate with me and I’d be more willing to try it. Yeah. I think Beck touched on a good point on value, alignment and trust. Mm-hmm. You know, we all remember Nike 2025. Sydney was the global kickoff for the, you know, women’s half marathon after dark tour. Mm-hmm. Of course, Sydney hosted the half marathon and throughout the whole global series we had 10 kilometers and women’s only.

[00:19:19] But that showed that the brand are now really investing on that experience and directly. Partaking in the curation, it’s no longer about sponsorship of major events. That still happens. That’s still at the core, ’cause it’s an easy piggyback. But for them to curate the whole ex experience globally, it was all about building that trust.

[00:19:39] Mm-hmm. Building that alignment. I mean, what other races curate a great program that had, you know, um, Georgia Smith at the end of the concert and had, um, beautiful. Pendant as a metal and yeah, bra as part of your giveaway bra feeding spaces. That’s so curated and from us, from an operational delivery, we see the thought process.

[00:20:02] I know it’s gone too much information, but the women’s after dark event, the type of portal loose that Nike insisted on the. They said, these are premium toilets. My mind they were, they absolutely were. They were premium toilet that caused Nike. Yeah. But it’s actually thinking about the consumer. It’s, yeah.

[00:20:21] And that is just one thing for us who sees things on both sides. They is, they have no quiet room, mom, quiet, changing room, breastfeeding space for, for parents who need to breastfeed the premium toilets. These are things that build trust. Yeah. And I see on the ground going. Nike is really, really invested and that whole thing has rolled through around the world and all of us, I’m sure both of you participate in an event.

[00:20:48] I’m starting to see snippets of it coming through from my hat. They are truly authentic and that’s what brands are investing, not just on the experience, but on the details. Mm-hmm. Like what, you know, Beck and Tara just mentioned, this is like a masterclass in I’m learning so much. Like I, I legit, like this is the one thing where it’s, it’s just such a weakness for me.

[00:21:09] Um, I think just my personality and all that. So thank you Brad. We could talk about this for literally forever, uh, hours. So I’m gonna end this with two quick questions, uh, so you can just answer it all. Um, kind of a fun one. And then, but, uh, so Iron Man mm-hmm. Who runs a triathlon, they banned music mm-hmm.

[00:21:29] And cameras. Mm-hmm. Uh, from races. Mm-hmm. Do you think that that’s gonna hit marathons? The major marathon circuit. I call it the Matt Choy Effect, Metro Effect. Matt Choy? No. Matt Choy Cho. Matt Choy. Oh, that guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, hold on, hold on. Go around the circle. Uh, so Beck, and then also tell people where they can find you on social media.

[00:21:52] Your favorite two places. Um, no, I don’t think it’ll translate to marathons. Um, world major marathons. I think Iron Man is a whole nother. Brand of events, um, and it, they do things differently and that’s them doing things differently. Um, you can find me on Instagram and TikTok Beck Bridge Hand and yeah, thanks much.

[00:22:11] How do you spell the Oh, bridge. M-O-H-A-N. There we go. Yeah. Yeah. I hacked it up earlier. You didn’t see that cut. Tara, what do you think about, uh. No, no cameras and no music, music, music, uh, in the major marathons. And then social media. I mean iron and men and women are a different breed of humans. If they want a raw dogger with no music or power to them, I need, I’m one of them.

[00:22:35] I know it’s what got me my pee pee in a marathon. Um, definitely not like we need that to keep us going. Like that would be crazy. Um, I mean, it is interesting to look at what, you know, changes major merit. Marathons in general are bringing in like Paris, not having water bottles on course anymore. I mean, that’s a whole topic in itself.

[00:22:49] And it is interesting to see how marathons adapt as we go on and they get, you know, more popular, more popular with like, you know, a million people applying for London Marathon this year. It’s wild. But like with music, no. Like that’s, we, we need that. Don’t take that away from us. Like some people really, you know, set their pace to a marathon.

[00:23:05] Um, so yeah, that’s my two Bobs worth. Um, you can find me at, at tara meakins, M-E-A-K-I-N-S, um, or at the Ji Run Club. Um, yeah, Instagram. Instagram. Instagram. Yep. Yeah. I’m Wade Beck and Tara, uh, Iman. It’s, it’s the event itself. It’s very technical. There’s no technicality and raise regulations in, uh, conforming to international standards.

[00:23:27] So it’s a distraction for them. Uh, but for marathons it’s all about accessibility. It’s all about sharing that, uh, experience. If you are banning social, if you’re banning those, uh, portals to other runners, you are. Essentially cutting off the limbs, no pun intended. So, and if you wanna find me, it’s Instagram, Keith Bus, Lightyear.

[00:23:47] All right, thank you so much everyone for your time coming down, recording, educating me, educating the masses, hopefully the businesses, runners, et cetera. Uh, all the best and to your running. Thanks for having us. Thanks for having us. Fun.