In running clubs in the Philippines, love awaits at the finish line for some

MANILA – Ms Ella Rojo, 27, an investment analyst, had never been much of a runner. She exercised regularly and did yoga, but felt running was not her thing.

“I’d hit the road once a month, mostly jog-walking. The thought of being out on the road, alone, sweating, exposed – it didn’t appeal to me,” she said.

But then, she noticed a curious thing. Young women like her – in their chic crop tops, trendy leggings and sleek performance shoes – were hitting the pavement and running after office hours around Bonifacio Global City, a commercial hub east of the capital Manila, where she works.

She often saw a group of them – with equally fit, young men – gathering in front of a big Adidas store, doing their warm-ups and setting off on their runs. “They were like the cool kids on campus,” she said.

So, she checked out their page on Facebook, and then showed up one evening to join them in one of their runs.

The early sessions she had with them confirmed what she had suspected: These run clubs were also the hottest places to meet the hottest mates.

She said she had been on popular dating app Bumble, but her experience on it was less engaging than the one she found with a run club. “You don’t have to put on a show and impress a stranger,” she said.

She said a run club also narrowed down the social pool to people who were closer to her age and shared her interests. “Everyone was young, healthy and attractive,” she said.

But she added that while the club is social in nature, everyone still has to run. “You’re running and sweating for at least 30 minutes to an hour. That somehow reveals your character in a way a date can’t,” she said.

Ms Rojo confesses that while she has found new friends at the run club, none has so far led to a romantic relationship. “Still running, still looking,” she said.

Online content creator Dani Buenvenida, 28, is also still on the lookout for “the one”, although she is starting to think a run club may not be the ideal place for that.

She joined one thinking it could be an alternative to a dating app, but she was surprised by how little socialising was taking place.

“You’re always running. You can’t talk to people,” she said in a TikTok post.

Still, she said, there are plenty of opportunities to flirt when running with a group. “When you’re running with someone you have a crush on, for instance, you can share an Airpod so you can listen to the same playlist,” she said.

Search is over

For Ms Chynna Rachelle Cuna, 34, and Mr Ralph Lagrisola, 33, the many speed, tempo and long-distance runs and road races they experienced together have led to something more permanent.

They met in 2023 through the WeKenRun club.

For Mr Lagrisola, a sales manager, it was love at first sight. “When I saw her... I told myself, ‘I need to be back,’” he said.

But Ms Cuna, a paediatric occupational therapist, said it was not like that for her. “It wasn’t love at first sight, but he did leave a good impression,” she said.

It was running that drew them together. They both signed up for a marathon in Taiwan in 2023. Mr Lagrisola helped Ms Cuna find the right pair of shoes and paced her on her long runs.

During the run itself, Mr Lagrisola sidled up beside Ms Cuna on the 32nd kilometre and made his move.

Running turned into dating, and dating blossomed into a relationship. Ms Cuna said: “It was never a guessing game with him. He was honest, genuine and intentional from the very start.”

The two are now engaged “and I’m the happiest person right now”, said Mr Lagrisola.

Growing tribe

Running is not a trend that is only now catching on in the Philippines.

Filipinos have always been into running, taking their lead from the running booms of the 1960s and 1990s in the United States.

But it is experiencing a new, unprecedented surge – a “new era” – as a younger generation eschews decadent evenings of booze, cigarettes and staying up till the rooster crows for a healthier, more active lifestyle.

Influencers are also getting on the bandwagon.

“The KOLs (key opinion leaders), they have a lot of followers, and people see them running and they are telling themselves, ‘I want to try that one,’” Mr Rio de la Cruz, who organises some of the Philippines’ largest marathons, told GMA News Online.

All this has been a boon for run clubs, which have seen their ranks swell. Running site Pinoy Fitness lists close to 100 run clubs across the Philippines, each with 50 to over 100 active members, and a sprawling footprint online.

The 5AM Gang Run Club – one of the biggest right now – has more than 30,000 followers on its Facebook page. It has running sessions on almost each day of the week, held in trendy locations across metropolitan Manila, with groups of close to 100 runners each.

It has been a boon for sportswear and leisure companies as well, as they partner run clubs to promote their brands to a growing market that is likely to buy their products.

The 5AM club, for instance, has had ties with the retailer Runnr and the shoe brand Hoka.

Adidas sponsors a long-running club that has over 20,000 followers on Facebook and is among the most visible on social media.

Shangri-La Hotel, meanwhile, organises running clinics for Rockwell Run Club.

Dating not the goal

Mr Andrei Adriano, 25, one of the 5AM club’s running coaches, said while he is glad that more people are into running as a lifestyle, expectations of romance tend to obfuscate the goal.

“It’s not really our focus (to turn our club into a dating club). When we hear comments like that, we just laugh it off. Dating shouldn’t really be the goal,” he said.

But neither should running be the sole focus. “The best thing is the community. You see people... bonding after every run, and even when there’s no run,” he said.

Ms Cuna said “the relationship just flows naturally”.

Romance – if running ever leads to that – will come out of the struggle to reach a common goal, whether it is a 5km fun run or a gruelling marathon.

“You never forget the people who were with you during challenging seasons of your life and, believe me, marathon training is no easy feat,” said Ms Cuna.

One downside, though, is that a run club, if it increasingly becomes a venue for dating, also tends to invite the same predatory behaviour that bedevils dating apps.

A Reddit thread excoriated a supposed community leader for hitting on newbies and having an affair with a married member of the run club.

“This leader is hitting on newbies that he likes and being too friendly, but apparently has a hidden agenda,” said Acceptable-Rich-1664, the Reddit user behind the original post.

This is why many others prefer to run solo.

“I’ve been running for seven years, and I have never been bored running alone. It’s more peaceful. You’re not responsible for other people and, most of all, there are no issues,” said Agile_Star6574 on the Reddit thread. “That’s the downside to a running group – too many issues, politics, envy, egos. There are benefits to group running, but for my peace of mind, I’d rather run solo.”

Ms Jess Paguio, 34, a graphic designer, started running to overcome that morning dose of ennui.

She ran mostly with a friend in the early days. Meeting new people was not the goal, she said.

But she and her friend gradually gravitated towards a run club she had been seeing frequently on her online social feeds, and that has upped her game.

“You meet new people who have the same priorities and goals, so it is exciting in a way,” she said.

But Ms Paguio said the socialising part is not the point. “It’s still about getting up in the morning and overcoming that laziness and motivating myself to move forward. It’s about showing up for myself.”