Until recent years, running has been seen as a solitary activity. However, with the rise of apps like Strava — which was released in 2009, but gained mainstream popularity during the pandemic — runners now have a place to share their runs and milestones. Strava also gives run clubs a place to operate by allowing users to see all the registered run clubs in their area. Runners can also post their solitary runs to the club page and receive kudos and comments from other members.
Running communities found a space on Instagram and TikTok. With clips on running tips, vlogs, gear reviews, and running fit checks, it’s safe to say that running culture has gone viral.
Metro Zoomin Run Club started with Kyle Angeles dragging his friends with him to ease the struggle of lonely runs. Soon friends of friends joined, and the run club was born.
Metro Zoomin is one of the many clubs that takes place in the Edmonton river valley. Founded in 2024, the club runs a 7.5 km loop of the valley every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. In Kyle Angeles’ position, he gets to see the community being fostered each run. He describes how members begin mingling, and soon enough, run beside each other at each meetup.
For Angeles, seeing members form friend groups within the club is “a lot of fun to watch.”
MacEwan University student Justin Langkamp has been running with Metro for just over a year. It was the first run club he ever tried and says it helps him to “get involved with people in the community.”
As the runners filled the Royal Glenora Club parking lot, two friends joined the huddle of runners warming up. Kaitlyn’s running journey began in May 2025, before getting Ashley into the sport this year. Their first run with Metro was the shake out run that was hosted before this summer’s Edmonton Marathon. On that particular day, Ashley said her motivation for coming out was the opportunity to fit in a run after work on a “beautiful day.”
Metro Zoomin prides itself on being a place where people can go to develop their running and cardio while also creating lasting friendships with like-minded people.
Another run club, Wild Rose Runners, celebrated its 10 year anniversary on Sept. 15, and has been operating consistently since its creation in 2016. The club started when the founders noticed Edmonton’s lack of run clubs, and its growth has allowed them to work with brands like Dig Deep Endurance Fuel and Olé.
The Wild Rose runners convene each Tuesday at 6:30 p.m, typically in Hawrelak Park.
Anthony Webber has recently taken over operations at Sundae Run Club when the last organizers ‘ended’ the club.
Webber’s running journey began at 13 after he realized if he couldn’t be the strongest on his rugby team, he could be the fittest. When he started university, his motivation shifted to improving his mental health.
“If I was feeling homesick or was stressed, I found a run would really help me out.”
Despite being told that the operation of a run club was a lot of hard work without much in return, Webber felt Sundae Run Club was something the community needed.
Although there are many great clubs around Edmonton, each has a different style. Sundae is a very casual run club with no road blocks that may make it difficult for a non-runner to get started.
“It’s under five kilometers. You could walk it or you can run it. And so it feels like you can just show up and figure it out.”
Social media has really helped the discoverability of the club. Sundae has worked with many local brands to give their runners an experience that is more than just a simple run.
“It’s kind of nice that the social media side of the run clubs can be the thing that gets people off the social media into real life. I think what a lot of people are really craving is those in person experiences, friendships, and community.”
